It's All a Matter of Patience
by Dorminchu
Summary: Commander Hange's latest experiment takes an unexpected turn. [UNDER REVISION]
1. Consummation

**_a/n: the ret-con truly beginneth with chapter one; check my profile page for more info!_**

* * *

_1850, Scout Regiment HQ_

* * *

Summer. The air was warm and heavy with promise, thrumming with the sounds of nearby night-life.

Annie was moderately surprised to find the shed unguarded, and attributed this to sheer luck, or perhaps a new and as-of-yet uncharacteristic decline in the quality of the Regiment's security. _Either way, it won't make too much difference. _With an effort, she managed to push up the wooden bar holding the doors shut and gain entry.

The inside of the shed seemed much more barren in the lantern's glow. There were a few boxes, some storage racks normally used for holding spare gas canisters, and not much else. Annie was silently grateful for this moment of privacy.

She chanced a glance back at Eren, who chose to linger a few careful steps in her stead. He was looking past her, peering into the depths.

"What do you think?" she asked.

"I'm not sure what you mean, Ann."

Raising her arm so the light was cast out a little farther, she pressed: "Well, do you think we'll be safe in here?"

"Probably," Eren replied. "As long as we don't draw attention to ourselves."

"I wouldn't worry about that," Annie said. She closed the door, noting with some measure of disapproval that it did not lock from the inside. Setting the lantern down, she turned to look at Eren. The shadows were more distinct in the low light, enunciating sharp corners and serving as a contrast to the steady glow that engulfed them.

He was quiet at her approach. "I need you," she told him, bluntly.

A beat, then: "For what?"

Annie stared at him, incredulous. It was a second or two before Eren's mouth twitched. In a burst of pent-up frustration, she kissed him with much more ferocity than she had originally intended.

"Dammit, you know what I mean," she grumbled, mending her composure with coolness while he regained his. "That's why you followed me here."

"I think you've definitely got something, there."

His tone both irked and amused her. She did not grace his statement with a retort.

"All the same," Eren continued, much more seriously, "we really should plan these things."

"Hm?" Her hands fiddled with his collar, trailing down, fingertips kissing fabric. "I _did_ plan this. That's why I waited 'til to-night."

"Right," Eren muttered. "Dunno what you think the difference is between to-night and any other night."

"The lack of guards, mostly."

"Just the guards?" he mused. "That hasn't stopped you yet."

"And it hasn't stopped you from going along with it, either," Annie said dryly. "But when do you suppose we should meet again?"

"When we have time," he said quietly. "Now, for instance."

Something about the way Eren said this struck Annie as very finite. Before she could form a clever retort, his mouth caught hers, while his hands explored previously untouched skin beneath the thin fabric of her shirt.

She wanted that off, suddenly. It wasn't really in the way, but she was already hot enough. It was as if all the heat, all that tension between them had coalesced, trapped inside the shed when she closed the door.

"Wait," she said.

Eren hummed inquiringly. She shrugged out of his embrace in order to undress, but his hands were already drifting, fingers poised on the hem of her shirt. "Let me?" he suggested.

Slightly amused, Annie lifted her arms so he could relieve her. The world turned a muted golden-grey, then reverted back to normal. Gooseflesh chased up her skin in the absence of cloth, and as she looked at him.

"Are you all right?" Eren asked. "You're trembling."

His hands felt warm and strangely solid on her naked waist. Annie nodded. Made it a point to look him dead in the eye before she kissed him. There was a simple rightness to all of this that she could not put into words, but it didn't matter. The heat made it difficult to think. She sat down upon one of the larger crates and he bent to her, trailing his hands up her abdomen as he went. Annie curved into him with an airy smirk.

"You say there's no difference, but do you honestly think our superiors won't know about this?" she whispered, breath hitching when he pressed his hips into hers.

"I never said that," Eren mused, "but I don't doubt it." He kissed the crown of her head. "Why, do you think they're watching us?"

"I don't care anymore," she muttered into his chest. "And they mustn't, either, if they're letting us get this far."

The thought was not entirely pleasant. She held him a little closer than before. They stayed like this for a time, until Eren pulled back, frowning, as if struck by a sudden realisation.

"Don't you, er…want to move someplace more convenient?" She raised her eyebrows; he added: "I mean, that can't be very comfortable."

Eren shrugged off his jacket, offering it to her. Annie eyed it sedately. It probably wouldn't help much, but she took it from him anyway. Slipped it on as Eren studied the contents of the room, cursed in frustration. She lay back upon the crate to demonstrate her indifference.

"I think we'll be fine," she told him, "as long as we're careful."

Eren grumbled something about splinters, but relented. Annie watched while he leant across her, sliding hands across her body, tracing the scars of her contravention with his eyes as if they could reveal all that she would not speak aloud. And when he laid her bare, she wondered, not for the first time, what it was he chose to see in her.

There was quiet as they looked each other over. Annie bit her lip. Eren let his hands roam. She closed her eyes again and shuddered vaguely, arching up into the touch. He kissed her jaw when she turned away, descending, covering her with his palms and his mouth.

Annie tried to bring him closer, legs wrapped around his midriff, admitting hushed, feverish noises to the heavy air. He huffed, kissing her breast.

"Well?" she asked him at last, panting slightly.

"Well what?" His words were slightly muffled, his breath warm against her skin.

"Aren't you going to…?" She trailed off.

Slowly, Eren raised himself so they were eye-to-eye, propped on an elbow. She regarded him through her lashes. He kissed her nose, grinned slyly at her reaction. "No really, what?"

(On the subject of his gaze: there was something strange and inexplicably beautiful about the way he looked at her. The emotion was a jumble of many: love and excitement, curiosity and anxiousness. She revelled in silence.)

"Are you asking for my permission?" she murmured.

"You'd like that, wouldn't you?" Eren teased.

Annie scowled at him. "Just finish what you started."

"That's what you want?" He was solemn, now.

_"Yes,"_ said Annie, voice terse, approaching a groan when his hand slid down her belly. Anticipation left her breathless. Eren opened her up with a couple fingers, seemed vaguely fascinated at the ease of it, then startled when she clenched around him. Annie just sighed in wordless contentment, raising her hips. He leant over and kissed her again, of his own accord.

She kissed back, hands in his hair. His mouth pressed to her throat, her collarbone. She wrapped her arms around him and panted. It wasn't enough.

"E-Eren," she stammered, pushing him back. She hadn't meant to stammer.

"Hunh?"

She sat up slowly at his retreat, the rest of her response caught in her throat. For a moment neither of them were quite sure what to say. A hazy stare-off ensued. His eyes were lidded and sort of dreamy. Annie shut hers to try and preserve the memory.

"What, Annie?" His voice was hoarse, fraught with arousal and perhaps concern. She figured that he'd misjudged her reaction and shook her head.

"I'm fine," she said, opening her eyes again.

"You sure?"

"That you're getting ahead of yourself, yes," she muttered. Given the re-introduction of sight, her euphoria-addled mind chose this precise moment to fixate, unreasonably, on his tongue.

"Oh," said Eren hoarsely, as though disgruntled. Then his mouth curled. "I really thought I was getting somewhere."

"I _need_ you," she reiterated hotly.

Now his hands retreated, sliding her knees apart. Puzzlement was roused briefly alongside the insistent pulse below her belly; yet the image of his figure, half-kneeling between her legs, was indication enough of his intentions. She felt him exhale slowly, and then he closed the distance between them, hands on her arse and squeezing lightly, capturing her in a slow, unrelenting embrace.

And Annie moaned. Softly, but she didn't try to hold it back, either. His mouth was warm, and she was sensitive. Annie struggled to think, to maintain her dignity in stubborn silence; her resolve soon melted as Eren sighed into her flesh, and she closed her eyes, trying to remember how to breathe properly.

He tilted his head, nipping at her thigh. One hand slipped down to tend to her again. She squirmed. She'd had enough of waiting. Pulled him up so he buried his head in her lap with a rough, guttural noise; she made an abrupt sound like "ah!" and slid her legs over his shoulders.

Eren glanced up at her as though she'd said something coherent.

"You're going to—finish me," she informed him huskily, ruffling his hair with something close to affection, "and if there's no trouble, we can probably—" he started kissing her again and Annie quickly lost her train of thought "—_fuck_, that's it…."

His rhythm was slower, deliberate; feeling overwhelmed, Annie released his head and leant back, clutching the edge of the wooden crate until her knuckles bled white. It didn't really help, but it didn't hurt much, either—another impasse.

Eren chose to shift his attentions a little higher. Annie yelped before she could help it, and he laughed quietly before resuming. She pressed the side of one shaking fist to her mouth and groaned, weakly. He looked up at the sound. She could see the eagerness in his eyes and was temporarily struck by emotion, lost for words and very-nearly close.

"Don't _stop_," was all she could think to tell him, and he obliged.

* * *

_A/N: Apart from being one of the more (most?) explicit chapters I've yet penned, this is also gonna be told a bit differently than my other offerings. __Read and review?_


	2. Plan

**a/n: And the ret-con rages on with a fresh iteration of chapter two! Reviews are greatly appreciated; please, don't be a stranger!**

(A memory.)

* * *

_1848, Military Academy, Wall Rose_

* * *

The shadows of her unconsciousness were torn asunder by her own awakening. Annie opened her eyes with a gasp, bolting upright, trying to familiarise herself with her surroundings.

The girl's dorm. She was alive, unharmed. The others were sleeping, probably; Annie didn't really care what they got up to otherwise.

What had she been dreaming?

She frowned, trying to remember. There was no clarity, only concept. She'd been dreaming of contact, pure physicality, quick and fluid.

Sparring?

Maybe. It didn't feel like a fight—there had been something more to this dream, raw and reckless, but much more personal….

A shiver ran through her at the thought, like a reflex, instinctive. The purpose for this occurred to her; Annie attempted to ignore it, yet it lingered, a slow, vacillating pulse in her loins.

She laid her head in her hands, let her breath out in a sharp, frustrated hiss.

_Fuck._

Not this again.

A sleepy scoff from the left. Annie ignored it. Her pulse hammered violently in her chest. She felt foolish, unguarded. This wasn't part of the plan.

"Are you going to pretend I don't exist again? Because I'm not in the mood."

Annie turned at last to find a very ill-tempered Mina at the edge of their bunk, wrapped up in the single thin sheet that served as bedding with her knees folded tightly against her chest.

"Go back to bed, Mina," said Annie.

The other girl did not budge. She lifted her head to seethe: "I think you're being very selfish, actually."

"Ha. You're probably right," Annie said dryly.

Mina threw her a very foul look. "If you're going to be stubborn, well, I guess I can't force you to sleep or care about your stupid training score, but as for ME—"

"I thought I made myself clear, Carolina," Annie said coldly. "We're not discussing it." It was satisfying to watch her roommate's face change, disbelief overtaken by a fresh wave of indignation.

"DON'T you Carolina me!" Mina hissed, now fully on the warpath. "God, you're such an arse sometimes. If you would only talk to him, it would make this _so much easier_ for everyone."

A spark of anger overtook better judgement. "This has nothing to do with him."

Mina rolled her eyes. "You mean Eren." She didn't bother to keep her voice down.

Annie felt her face go hot. She wanted to hit something. Growled: "Christ, will you—?"

"What, shut up? You said his _name_. In your sleep. At least twice. Do we know any other Erens?"

Annie wished with all her heart that she could wake up the next morning and not have to deal with this stupid interrogatory shit.

"I mean, really, how am I supposed to get any sleep with you—"

"Go bother someone else, then," Annie retorted.

"And leave you to be miserable by yourself?" Mina sighed, too tired to be angry anymore. "Fat chance. It doesn't matter how grumpy you are, Annie, I'm not going to abandon you just because you, uh. Talk in your sleep. But I _really_ think you should consider…"

She trailed off as Annie sat up and threw both legs over the cot. "Uh, hullo? What do you think you're doing?"

"If it'll shut you up," Annie muttered, "then, fine, I'll talk to him."

Mina was oddly quiet. Didn't even ask when, or if she intended to do it now. Maybe she was too shocked to respond, or she'd given up entirely. Annie smiled to herself.

* * *

_1850, Scout Regiment HQ_

* * *

An hour and a half to curfew.

Annie shifted slightly at her spot, leaning with a casual air against the cold stone wall as she considered her chances of slipping out undetected.

The issue of drawing attention or even getting caught was not what irked her—not anymore. The actual act of smuggling herself out was much like sport, and these days, trapped within the monotony of inactivity, a challenge such as this was greatly desired.

She'd have to make a break for it while circumstances permitted.

She caught sight of Eren as he headed down the hall. He was moving slower than she was, unperturbed. Her pace did not waver as she walked toward him and let her shoulder brush his forearm. Eren stopped with a jolt, relaxing slightly as he recognised her.

"Annie? What's—"

He stopped talking at the look she threw him. His eyes swept up and down the hall, then fixed on her once more. She motioned for him to follow her with a discreet glance. Annie, meanwhile, copied his behavior but found no guards present that could possibly detain them, save for the one who had been watching her with suspicion ever since she had taken up residence.

They turned down a hall, then another, then found themselves (virtually) alone.

"Meet me out by the sheds," Annie muttered discreetly to his shoulder, "in an hour. We'll go about matters from there."

Eren had no reply. She stood back, raised her eyebrows as if to say: _Well, can you?_ and he offered her a covert, boyish sort of grin.


	3. Moratorium

**a/n: Jeez, this ret-con knows no bounds! Somehow went from 5k to 7k words, and that was AFTER a lot of the river sequence had been ripped out and re-written. Even if you think you know how it goes, I encourage you to give it another look-see; things have changed, especially when it comes to tackling Annie's…complicated affiliation with her fellow soldiers. ;)**

**Reviews are amazing. Feedback helps me decide if I'm handling things well or not. Please, don't be shy!**

**Also, just want to throw in a quick thank-you to vaegtersang for acting as beta in the original version! This chapter couldn't have come about without his help. Check him out here or on tumblr if you've got a minute to spare, he's a swell guy! **

* * *

_1850, one week prior__ to the shed_

* * *

Things had changed between the two of them. It wasn't that Annie minded — quite the opposite, really — but even the most innocent of gestures turned heads. Scandal was bred, not from their history, but from their impudence; apparently holding hands for all of two seconds was enough to convince the others that her relationship with Eren extended beyond the reaches of mere camaraderie. (Not that they were wrong, but that was beside the point.)

Annie tried to refrain from dwelling on this for longer than necessary; there was no point when she and the rest of the world knew already. To define them as lovers was excessively personal; inapplicable to young soldiers with little concept of what awaited them down the line. Nor were they friends — she did not have friends. Mina was dead. Hitch was most likely dead. Eren tempted fate on a daily basis.

Whatever Annie's relationship was with the boy, it ran a touch deeper than mere kinship.

Though in defence of their onlookers, perhaps she and Eren weren't as discreet as they could have been. When their eyes met in the mess hall one sluggish morning, the tension was a great, looming creation occupying the airspace, thick enough to cut through with a blade — yet it seemed that they were the only ones attuned to this disturbance. Everything had come apart within five seconds. Perhaps seven, if she was being generous. Annie turned away quickly, leaving Eren looking confused and a little intrigued. It had been completely innocent, and yet she still found her hands shaking, her breath slightly uneven.

(Hitch's knowing smirk did nothing to amend the situation; on the contrary, the sheer amount of discomfort afflicting the two of them only seemed to amuse her.

Here was another complication — Hitch wasn't dead. Neither was Marlowe Freudenberg. In fact, they were both quite alive and well, and seemed to have barely changed since the day she had first met them. Whether or not this proved to be a curse or blessing remained to be seen; at present, it was more than enough reason to keep Annie on her toes.)

Annie found herself wishing that Mina Carolina were still alive, because it had been nice to have someone else around to explain all these things, even if the girl had been anything but subtle about it. Even Hitch would be better company than none; though Annie preferred Mina to Hitch, because for all of Mina's tendencies towards explaining concepts in uncomfortable detail, at least she wasn't smug.

Their superiors remained suspiciously quiet on the matter.

* * *

Her mind turned against her in the dark. Nothing existed to distract her. Onus had found her so often that it was almost abnormal to think of anything else. Now discipline was forgotten, displaced by restlessness and an acute sense of yearning. Disallowing herself the luxury of release was a lot like being tortured, but there was no interrogation to be had save for the voice imagined inside her head, disturbingly reminiscent of Mina, almost a croon: _What are you trying to prove?_ Morbid though it was, the thought kept her occupied… Or so it should have. It did not.

With a curse, Annie drew her arms and legs tighter about herself. Air and light came in through a single, tiny window and during the nights, it got pretty cold down here, even during the summer; not that temperature was much of a problem for someone like her.

Her eyes and mind felt heavy, but sleep would not come now; not when her thoughts were drifting, and all she could think about was how easy it would be to forfeit this stupid battle she wasn't even winning, and which she was probably bound to lose in the first place….

Shit, she really did sound like Mina.

Thoroughly uncomfortable dwelling on the subject of dead people while struggling with her preoccupation with Eren Jaeger, Annie darted back and forth frantically between the two diversions — though there was little in the way of contest. The latter soon won out.

Fine. She could compromise, recall little things. A smile or a touch, a look. The smell of him, a mingling of sweat and earth and leather masked now and again by something familiar, medicinal and sharp. Soap? Underlying this was another scent, much headier than the first.

Annie wished, not for the first time, that she could simply sneak outside into the cooling summer air and drive this rebellious urge into dormancy for a few more days, but it never had been that simple. It probably never would be. So she sat there a little longer, felt another libidinous swell rise in her before she exhaled in resignation.

She'd never been quite so appreciative for the easy access her night-clothes provided; a few buttons undone, and cool air kissed her skin. Annie lowered her hand with some hesitancy and found herself already damp with sweat and desire. Too weary to be annoyed, she pushed back on her heels 'til she was sitting, pressed against the wall.

She took things slow, even though her skin prickled like there were eyes on her, but nobody came knocking. It became easier after a while. Still tedious, as she stroked herself absently.

With a tiny ache of disappointment, Annie reflected that she could not reach out in the dark and find him there; she'd have to improvise a little. Closing her eyes, she could pretend — that she was sitting astride him, leaning into his chest with his legs around her waist, while one hand roamed up her shirt and the other stroked heavy along her thigh — her breath hitched, then she was adding fingers at her own discretion, a little pressure and _oh_, that was something.

Her eyes fluttered. She was kneeling and alone with her own hands jammed up her shirt and down her pants. Annie cursed, licked her dry lips, fighting feverishly to keep her concentration, though she remained alert to her surroundings. She reminded herself firmly that she was alone, and that no one would come for her if she kept quiet.

Swallowing a noise, she began again, efficient now, rocking in time with her fingers. It was not very practical, and not really enough to sate her, either, but still pleasurable in spite of all this. So she panted, body curling over empty air, nerves tingling until she remembered where she was again, and how Eren's hands were broader than her own, probably warmer. His touch would not be so sure, not rough and fraught with agitation, but how was she supposed to defamilarise herself with her own body?

Too hot to sleep, reeling with sensation and disappointment, Annie slumped back against the cool wall and tried to ignore the pang of longing that lingered.

* * *

It was the next day that Annie decided she would have to do something about this continual degradation of her self-control; it was…troubling, to say the least.

She had already conceived an alibi — the guard had seemed relieved when informed that she'd be off his conscience for a few hours. Annie knew there was a fair chance that Commander Hange would be too involved with keeping Eren busy to be bothered with tracking her down. _It's deceptively kind of the Commander, _she thought,_ to allow her subjects time to roam around freely._

But what was to be done?

Annie crept into the mess hall nearing the end of lunch, clad inconspicuously in military uniform, scanning the tables for a potential target. She felt little desire to ask any of the fresh-eyed recruits — intimidation only worked when there was a proper threat behind it; and in such a compromised state, spilling her guts to a stranger would inevitably lead to an incontrollable situation.

Hitch was a definite no, as was Marlowe. Most of the veterans of the 104th and those similar were familiar with her mode of operation. This was a simultaneous advantage and problem all in of itself. She could handle them a little easier, knowing their personalities and weaknesses, but her memories had eroded with time. They didn't fear her in the same way the fresh blood did; and while they had not adapted to her presence with ease, therein lay the issue — they had adapted. They neither feared her, nor did they hate her; it was more like toleration.

Annie sure as hell wasn't about to go to the Commander for anything, not unless it was on her terms.

Her eyes set on one table in particular. She moved in before hesitation could get the better of her.

She did hesitate, though. Cleared her throat. No one seemed to hear. It was Springer who noticed first, staring at her with a look of unease and surprise before prodding his companion hard in the ribs with an elbow.

"Ow — what the hell, Connie?"

A nervous sort of grin split the boy's face. "You're not gonna believe who it is."

The girl turned to look and her irritation quickly faded.

"Blaus," said Annie curtly. "I need your help."

Sasha blinked, then glanced around to the others at the table; none would meet her eyes. Her mouth opened, closed a few times before she managed to speak: "Now?"

"Yes," said Annie. "Follow me." She strode off in the direction of the grounds. Sasha followed. Most of the cadets at the tables were unaffected by this exchange, but more than a few glanced curiously at their retreat. _It won't matter_, Annie thought.

Even so, she did not relax until they were safely outside, with none to overlook their conversation but the horses in the stables.

"Tell me, Blaus," Annie said, "do you dream much?"

"Hunh? What does that have to do with anything?" Sasha asked, a note of bewilderment creeping beneath her fear.

"It's got everything to do with it, actually," said Annie. Her heart hammered on, and she hadn't even gotten to ask question that was eating her alive. Steeling herself, she pressed the other girl further: "You've got far more knowledge about this sort of stuff than I do. That's why I came to you."

Sasha stared at Annie a few moments more. "Uh. About dreams? I never took you to be the sort who cared about stuff like that, but…."

"It's more than that," Annie said grimly. "There are…other things, as well. Neither of us can afford to be side-tracked, but it's not like I can just — just turn this off, and…"_ I don't want to?_

Sasha's demeanour was suddenly reminiscent of a cornered animal. "I'm not sure I want to hear this." She was even edging away, stealing hopeful glances at the horse nearest them.

It occurred to Annie that Sasha might have misunderstood the direction of this conversation. That was understandable, especially when Annie wasn't brave enough to seek out the one that truly mattered. (At least, not yet.) Something coiled in her gut, hot, like shame.

"This has nothing to do with you, Blaus," Annie said tersely, before the other girl could even suggest or deny the notion.

"Then what are you asking ME for?" Sasha asked. "'Cos I dunno if I want to go along with whatever funny ideas you've gotten in your head —"

"Because I don't know what to do!" Annie growled, startling the nearby horses and Sasha in tandem, fists clenched. "I can't even look him in the eye without…."

Sasha's fear dissipated gradually into something like recognition. "You fancy someone."

Annie stared blankly at her, forgetting she was supposed to be irritated.

"Wait, THAT'S what was bothering you?" Sasha asked, looking amazed.

Annie was smart enough to keep her mouth shut. Sasha seemed genuinely surprised, then, as if unable to help it, asked: "Is this about Eren?"

"It's none of your business," Annie said hotly, but knew it was already too late; she'd given herself away.

Sasha snorted in a manner that was uncannily similar to the horse beside her. "Look, you dragged me out into the middle of the bloody woods — without any explanation, I might add — and NOW you ain't even got the common courtesy to admit that you're the one spilling your guts?" She threw the horse a look of amusement, as if the beast could understand her, then looked back at Annie. "Huh! And here I reckoned that you were…."

"What?" Annie snapped.

"I dunno, that you would've had it all sorted out," Sasha concluded.

"Most of it, yes," Annie muttered, staring defiantly at the trees in the distance, and reflecting that Sasha was surprisingly methodical for a girl who had no qualms with nicking food right under the noses of their superior officers.

"Uh…are ya' all right?" Sasha asked, frowning.

"I don't know," Annie replied, truthfully.

Although Sasha continued to maintain a careful distance, she didn't seem all that afraid anymore. As if by some unseen signal, she snapped shrewdly into focus: "If I might be honest, I don't think much is wrong with you. But I dunno if I'm the right sort to be talking to you about, um…this." For the first time, Sasha sounded genuinely uncomfortable. "It's not me who needs to hear it, you know what I mean?"

Annie didn't know what she'd been expecting to hear, but it wasn't that.

Sasha seemed to relax. "Before you said all that stuff about the dreams, I reckoned you were of the mind to kill me or somethin'." She chuckled. "It's nice to know you ain't as scary as you look!"

Annie couldn't resist the opportunity. "Don't push your luck," she said, finding amusement in the way Sasha's face paled.

* * *

Annie was kind enough to let Sasha go, with the understanding that this conversation would stay between them. Then again, if there was anything Annie could take away from her previous experiences, it was that secrets rarely kept well. But there was a world of a difference between fostering a simple, stupid crush and wilfully participating in the obliteration of mankind's greatest soldiers — and with that thought in mind, Annie really didn't have the energy to care about trivial matters anymore.

The sun was hot overhead that afternoon, the breeze languid. Annie took to the shade of a nearby tree, though it did little to alleviate the heat. Idly, she considered getting a spot of training in, but what was the point when she could do the same indoors — there was less room, sure, but there was no need to get herself all worked-up unnecessarily.

Annie smirked. Such leniency should be cause for concern.

There was a distant _BOOM_, and her head snapped up instinctually. Slowly, grudgingly, she relaxed. She'd been right about one thing — the Commander was ruthless when it came to getting any and all chances for Titan experimentation.

Yet her feet carried her in the direction of the disturbance, and a new emotion blossomed in her chest, delicate and strange, distantly familiar. All that Annie could do now was linger in the shadows and hope that Eren wasn't incapacitated enough from transforming to hold a proper conversation. Or maybe she had her priorities wrong, maybe she should be hoping for the chance that Eren wouldn't be able to talk at all so she could forgo having to admit anything to anyone….

Annie's scowl was focussed towards nothing in particular. She'd been outside a fair amount of time when the figure approached. She listened, gauging the weight of footsteps. Then chanced a look, standing a little straighter, brushing her bangs from her face, pleased to discover her suspicions had been proven wrong. "They let you off, then?"

"Not exactly. I'm supposed to wait for the results to come in, and Commander Hange said some fresh air would do me good."

"So you thought you'd come find me."

Eren shrugged. "I like talking to you." His sincerity was infallible, his face freshly scarred and complexion slightly paler than usual. A trace amount of scarlet was trickling from his left nostril.

"You're bleeding," Annie said.

"Hunh? Oh, this." He wiped his nose with the back of his hand. "It's fine, I think. Happens most every time I crystallise myself. Do you get 'em as well?"

"Not anymore."

Curiosity entered his voice: "Anymore. It stops at some point, then?"

"I was young when this stuff happened to me, Eren. I'm not sure how it works."

The words came out a little more harshly than she had originally intended. Eren sobered up. "Didn't mean to pry," he said. "Just, um. Thought you'd know something."

"It's fine," Annie said awkwardly, guilty at the speed at which he backtracked. "Don't worry about it."

An intangible weight settled over their heads in the wake of conversation.

"What were you doing before I came over here?" he asked. "Training again?"

"Not this time," she said coolly.

"Oh?"

"It's hot."

"That's never stopped you before," Eren said, feigning surprise.

Annie scoffed. "I don't suppose you've been in the sun all day, have you, Jaeger?"

"In and out of it. It is hot, though," he added. "I've been over there." He pointed in the direction the blast had come from earlier. A thin trail of steam — or smoke — issued from above the treeline.

"She's having you start fires, now?" Annie quipped.

Eren grinned. "What? No, why would she — that's just the leftover body."

"Ah," said Annie, feigning intrigue. "That makes sense."

Silence fell again. It occurred to Annie that she hadn't been alone with him like this since…she couldn't remember, actually. She glanced over to catch Eren watching her. He gave a start before looking away. And that was all she needed to see.

"What is it?" she asked, as innocently as she could. No response. Annie turned back to the tree.

"Care to spar?" he blurted.

"Aren't you supposed to be injured?" she asked.

"It's nothing worse than what I've had before. Besides, I don't think Commander Hange will mind if I get a little unclean."

Annie wondered exactly what Eren was referring to when he said before. "It's rather hot for it, don't you think?"

"I'm game if you are," Eren said, almost cheerfully stubborn.

Annie considered this. Then she turned on her heel, said: "Fine. But I'm not going to go easy on you."

He grinned. "Wouldn't expect you to."

It was not one of their worst fights, though private aggravation was a poor substitute for motivation, and he was perceptive to the point of distraction. It was still relatively easy to lead him through the motions — she decided to test him, leant back like she was about to kick, and he jumped away, eyes on her bare ankle and arms raised half-way.

"You're open," Annie advised him, and before he could reply she was advancing, turning her frustration into a cool kind of ruthlessness. She went on re-directing him for a while, but Annie was more than slightly preoccupied now. Little, insignificant details, easily ignored in any other situation, now combined as they'd done before in night-time — becoming an unstoppable force that bubbled up to the surface of her consciousness to construct a very different beast, with a transformation that was just as frightening as it was exhilarating. Was it her own sentiment that kept her clinging to fancy, or had he sought her out today as she had dreamt of him doing many times before? Was he still the same fifteen-year-old boy she remembered, with a head full of dreams, inexperienced and — _and what, Annie? What do you expect of him?_

Victory goaded her in the form of his gaze as she found an opening. She made it a point to knock him to the ground without really holding him down. Their bodies entwined; when the struggle ceased, his leg was situated between her calves and he was far too close.

"You know," Annie muttered, voice hushed in a precursor to breathlessness, "I think your friends have ideas."

Eren frowned up at her. "What do you mean?"

"Blaus. You'd be surprised what she knows."

He stared at her, dumbfounded. "You're friends with Sasha?"

"Not exactly. But she's been kind enough to offer her suggestions."

"About what, exactly?"

"Oh, all sorts of things." Annie paused, letting the statement linger before moving near enough to brush noses, but no further. A look of understanding dawned in his eyes, and her heart fluttered.

She descended, closing the distance between them. His mouth was a little chapped, and warm. His body tensed as she kissed him, but he made no move to stop her, and when she pulled away his attention fixed on her.

"You've been planning this," Eren remarked.

Annie made a show of checking her grip on his wrists, considering if she dared push a little more, just to see what he'd do. "Does it bother you?"

His grin eased her nerves more than it should have. "What is that, a rhetorical question?"

She could see herself reflected in his eyes, features concealed by shadows. She wondered if she was blushing.

"It might be," she said, and leant down to him.

"Wait, am I supposed to just —" Eren grunted when she kissed him again, "— ignore the fact you've, uh…?"

"So you have a conscience," she said indifferently.

Her fingers dragged lightly along his stomach, grazing his belt. Eren gave a start, looking to her for any kind of justification, verbal or otherwise. She smiled calmly down at him, one thumb dipping in the gap between fabric and skin.

"You're insane," he said, voice was slightly constricted.

"Maybe I am. But what does that make you?"

Her hands came to rest on his hips. Eren glanced rapidly from her face to her hands and back to her face again, his expression hovering somewhere between anticipation and panic. She sat up with his legs around her waist, working with his belt.

"You could help me with this," she muttered.

Eren grunted. "You have a belt. You know how."

He seemed very much relieved, however, when she pulled his trousers over his hips. For all of her directness, she did little more than entertain the notion until Eren opened his mouth to say something and quickly stopped, because her hand was already half-curled around him and it was a pointless ambition to speak. When confronted, she merely raised her eyebrows before looking back down to her objective. His reactivity intrigued her; she increased her grip and Eren made a strangled noise, twitching in her palm.

"That got your attention," she mused, without looking up.

Eren had no idea how she could talk to him so unconcernedly while he was reduced to this degree of exposure. He gave a start as Annie released him to pull her shirt over her head, manoeuvring their legs and hips about until she was kneeling over him, and he was laid out upon dry earth and grass with the tip of him pressed against her stomach. She looked him over for a moment, eyes steely, then spat harshly into her palm, wrapping her hand around his cock without flair.

Shuddering at the touch, Eren glanced down at what she was doing. Her hand was very different than his own — something to keep in mind, really. She kept her fingers loose, just enough to hold him. He couldn't watch too long; it felt strangely indecent, somehow, so he regarded her hazily, head and shoulders resting pliant against the tree and the rest of him straining slightly.

Their eyes met. Annie leant in, brushed her mouth against the corner of his own, smirking as he made a ragged noise.

"Better?" she murmured.

"Are you _really_ —?" he began hotly, but Annie kissed him quiet, pressing her thumb firmly against the tip of him, and that stopped him in his tracks for a good few seconds. "Shit, if you're just gonna —"

"What?"

He looked away, brow pinched, colour recurring in his cheeks as he covered her hand with his and squeezed implicitly, thumb heavy on her wrist-bone. A subtle quirk crossed her mouth.

Leaning forth into her shoulder, lips parted against her skin, he sighed softly. Feeling adventurous, he released her wrist to skirt his hand up her abdomen, cupped her through the thin bind.

Annie gasped a little. He kissed her throat. "That bother you?"

"No," she said softly. Eren pulled her closer, free hand sliding up her back. "We're not alone out here," she added, pulling him flush against her stomach. "You'd better hurry up."

Eren moaned a little, sound muffled by skin. When he sat up his head collided with her chin and he muttered something like an apology, cupped her face in trembling hands before he kissed her again. Her teeth grazed his lower lip; he broke away, stammering: "A-Annie —"

There was no real order to his movements now, just a kind of desperate rocking. She ducked, her mouth open against his throat, both hands curling 'round him; he came with a gasp that was almost panicked, grinding shallowly into the touch. Slumped to her, panting shakily like he'd just run a mile. Eventually he collected himself, glancing down. Realisation set in.

"I —" he said, then swallowed dryly.

"There's a river nearby, you know," said Annie.

"Oh," he muttered. "Right."

"C'mon," she said, retrieving her shirt. "It's hot, anyway."

* * *

They shed their boots and waded into the water, which was very cold and barely passed her calves, but it was hardly an issue, especially not in the blazing heat of the mid-afternoon sun. Initially, Eren had looked somewhat apprehensive when she'd asked him if he was going to just stand there. He'd joined her soon enough, leaving her alone with her thoughts.

The possible consequences of what she had just done now seemed to sink in. Over and over and over, her mind turned in circles, always coming back to dwell upon the trust which with he'd looked to her. They were nearly the same age, and yet she was both teacher and companion, a confidant in this mutual circumstance that neither had really asked for…yet he did not fear her. Did not avoid her in the way she avoided him, because what reason had he to fear a friend?

So Annie stood there in silence, feeling very nervous. It didn't take long for Eren to take notice of her pensiveness.

"Annie?" His voice was low. A softer flutter begot in her chest. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," she said. "Do I seem different to you?"

"Not really."

"Then why did you ask?"

Eren took some time responding. "You seem…troubled."

"Do I?" she asked faintly.

"A bit," he amended.

"Well," Annie said, "what would you say if I told you that you were right?"

Eren blinked, apparently taken aback by this unadulterated display of human emotion. "I thought you just…." He sighed. "Never-mind. What's the matter?"

Annie fiddled restlessly with her hands. "I…I think of you, sometimes. More than I should. Though I suppose that's pretty obvious, by now."

"I think about you too, you know," Eren said quietly.

Annie ignored that traitorous little burst of warmth in her gut, fighting to keep her voice stable. "That's not what I'm — I don't want to take advantage of you, just because you're…." Frustration coloured her words. She bit her tongue and withered in silence.

"Because I'm what?" Eren asked. "I came looking for you of my own free will, and I'm still here. I think that counts for something."

Annie glanced over at him, wondering what the expression on her face belied. Disbelief, probably. Why was he so calm? She tore her eyes away, back across the ford at the trees, caught between relief and an additional, unreasonable surge of guilt in wake of his frankness.

"You're sure about this," she said.

Eren laughed, and it felt genuine. "Annie, I'm fine. Really! You don't have to worry about me. I appreciate your concern, though."

He sounded nervous, but undeniably eager. She let him approach, and soon enough found herself standing under him, back-to-chest. She looked up, mildly intrigued. He kissed the top of her head, his arms wrapped 'round her midriff.

"Is this why you followed me out here?" she asked, making it a point to sound more unperturbed than she felt.

"In part," he replied. "You're pretty persuasive, you know."

"Persuasive," she echoed, more to herself than anything, and smiled. "I'll have to remember that."

His hands shifted course. "Is this," drawing harmless little circles on her hips, he hesitated, "all right?"

Annie nodded. Chose instead to observe his hands working on her belt. There was the sound of rustling, a muted clink before he tugged down her trousers, tentative but spellbound.

"Aren't you cold?" he asked, cupping the inside of her thigh, moving upwards.

"No," she replied, and let her eyes flutter shut to better focus on the feeling. Thought: I wonder if someone will see us, then sucked in a slow breath when he parted her.

"You should relax," he murmured, right against her cheek.

"I _am_ rela — nh," her retort clipping into a quiet groan. Eren huffed. Gave her a couple fingers, pressure, pulling her closer with his free hand. She reached back for something to hold onto and caught his waist. Snuck one palm beneath the linen, unmindful of his gasp. His belt was still undone, trousers un-buttoned and skin hot to the touch, and —

_Oh_.

"You're hard," she muttered, like it was a throwaway notion.

Eren kind of snorted. "Just noticed that, did you?"

But he undulated slowly into her, his free hand skimming up her side, a soft groan rising in his throat when she pressed back against him.

Her response was mostly teasing: "I don't need to hold your hand, do I?"

He wasted no time, revoking his touch, running his thumb upwards; Annie gasped, head tipped, forehead against his cheek like she was trying to hide.

The notion of (finally!) having the upper hand, however fleeting, gave Eren a strange and heady sense of accomplishment. He pressed his mouth to her nape, following the curve of her with his fingers until she moaned hazily, her legs shifting to give him better access. All her noises were going to haunt him, and Eren knew he shouldn't dwell on that to such an extent but — god, she was right there, tantalisingly close through his own half-discarded chinos. Suggestions infiltrated his better judgement like a tiny voice hissing in his ear: What if she was thinking about this as well, what if it was nearly as uncomfortable for her…?

He got his answer when her palm brushed none-too-subtly over his groin, and he nearly lost his nerve.

"Annie," he croaked, with his free hand wedged inelegantly up her shirt, fingers splayed between her breasts and sternum, cock twitching when she made a soft noise of inquiry — he dragged his mouth to her temple, panting: "What do you want me to do?"

"Get this out of the way," she suggested, scratching at his hip. "Or are you having second thoughts?"

His growl sounded repressed, nearly pained with longing: "Fuck, are you serious — 'course I _want_…" trailing off again, because he didn't want to come across as overeager, but why else would she say something like that…?

Annie chuckled, hooking an arm around his neck. "So what's the hold-up?"

Eren halted, regarding her dazedly. She tilted her head, aiming to kiss his mouth but missed, brushing his jaw. He beat her to it.

"You're really stubborn, you know that?" he muttered, running a hand up her abdomen. Annie hummed approvingly. "Besides, we should move if you — you're serious about this."

It took every ounce of self-control she had left to keep her voice from trembling: "Fine."

He released her. Trying to take a step forth, her progress was impeded. Startled, she looked down and remembered: her trousers, twisted like a pair of fetters 'round her legs. Annie frowned. _I really should have thought this through._

"Something wrong?" Eren mumbled at her left ear.

"I should get this —" divesting herself somewhat awkwardly, one leg at a time "— out of the way first, don't you think?"

Eren was oddly quiet. Annie could feel his eyes on her, though. She shivered again.

There was a natural edifice that caught her eye. Dark and yawning, with a smooth wet underbelly, and just a few feet from the bank. "Over there," she said, pointing to indicate, and he followed her. By the time they reached their destination she could hardly stand to wait.

"Turn around?" Eren suggested hoarsely — the statement was raw, wrought with tension.

She threw her wet, bunched-up trousers somewhere on the bank and obliged. Found herself pressed back against the damp stone faster than she could process, torn between the cold at her back and his hands heavy on her thighs, glancing nonchalantly (she hoped) from his cock to his face.

Eren lined himself up without comment, pushed. And gasped — because he needn't have worried about her being ready, it was almost too fast — pacing himself, slowly. Their hips were flush and her body was warm beneath her shirt. He gave her time to adjust; at least, until she grabbed his shoulders, eyes flashing, and hissed: "Move."

So he began to rock. Content, Annie wrapped her arms around his neck. Eren squeezed her thigh. "Careful," he panted. "Don't want to fall."

"Will you shut —" she growled, retort cut off in a groan when he started to move more intently. He planted a distracted kiss just under her jawline.

"M'serious, Ann," he said, grinning again. "Might crack my head open." Annie rolled her eyes. He cupped her breast, lips against her temple, adding: "You know, I —" she fluttered around him and he had to stifle a noise, his eyes lidded "— really missed you."

"I could tell."

He snickered. "Yeah?"

"Don't let it go to your head, Jaeger."

He huffed. "I won't."

Old habit taught her to deflect. She wanted to spite that feeling, take him in and let him kiss her 'til her head spun.

Abruptly, she grabbed his hip. "Eren."

"Ngh?"

She was directing him: "Right _here_, you just had it —" trying to get her leg higher around his midriff, going pink, from vexation or arousal he could not tell.

He grit: "What's the matter?"

"Nothing's —" she slumped, frustrated and panting. He just stared at her. "We're not stopping, I want to try something —" she kissed him briefly, fiercely "— but you have to trust me."

Eren shrugged, jaw set, curious as to where this was going.

"First," she said, "I need to be higher. Pick my leg up."

"Which one?"

"Doesn't matter."

Eren stared like she was messing with him. Annie stared back, flushed and impassive. His brow furrowed. He grasped one calf, under the knee, hauled it up as far as it would go. "Now what?"

She smirked. "It's nothing complicated. Move."

Her standing knee trembled riskily; Eren caught her before she came too close to falling, burying himself without pause. She jolted, her breath hiccup-y. He eased off, just in-case he'd gone too far, but:

"Oh, _god_," she groaned, looking somewhat stunned, and very pleased. "That's…"

"Good?" he offered hopefully.

She grinned — the mere idea of Annie _grinning_ was enough to make his head spin again — flushed and dangerous, unspeakably beautiful in the violent light of summer.

"How was I s'posed to know if you hadn't told me?" he muttered, half-teasing.

Her body arched; she wrapped herself around him and sighed: "That's not the point. Keep going."

Eren didn't falter; she moaned through her teeth, groping at his arse, pulling him closer. He knew he had to do that again. Pinned her between him and the smooth stone, grinding slow, deliberate for both their sakes; any faster and he wasn't gonna last long, not when she kept squeezing like that —

"Shit — _Annie_," frustrated at his own incoherence, kissing her hard enough that her head bumped the stone and their teeth clicked. She made a breathless, euphoric sound like laughter.

Approaching culmination was a sharp and colourless flash behind his eyelids. It hit Eren like a physical blow, devoid of pain. He reeled for a good while, trying to maintain his balance on trembling legs because for God's sake, he could just as easily crush her or something; never mind, that was a stupid thought, of course he wouldn't crush her. Dimly aware that he was not dreaming, he was called back to reality by the cold prickling in his legs and the solidity of her against his chest.

He shuddered on a laugh; Annie was still moving, rocking shallowly against him, and he was sensitive enough that it sort of ached just to stay inside. Touching herself, he realised, with a pleasant little jolt behind his navel. He snuck a hand down to help her along. She bit her lip, watching him intently. On the precipice, her eyes were dark behind her bangs, her breath high and ragged. It didn't take much for her to come; all pins-and-needles, both hands clutching urgently at his back, a sharp little cry quickly stifled into his skin, unwinding.

"Good?" he asked, when he felt she'd had enough time to recover.

"I'm fine. What about you?" Her tone was surprisingly even.

"Uh. Same, I think." His head was still buzzing. They stayed like that for about half a minute before he slipped out delicately.

Annie tested her weight. Good enough, she decided. At least until she tried to stand, whereupon she swayed precariously, swore under her breath and leant upon him. His arms came around her, and she exhaled when he nuzzled her shoulder wearily.

He mumbled: "I think you're bluffing, honestly." Yet he embraced her, mouth brushing chastely against her pale skin in lieu of words, and her fingers caressed his scalp with a tenderness he would not normally have associated with her.

* * *

There was a feeling, as Eren stepped away from the water and journeyed back to land once more, of something he couldn't quite put a name to. The heat left him unfocused, an inexorable reminder of their transgressions. Thoughts of her warmth, her smile, were lingering. He experienced a tiny thrill at the memory, shook it off, feeling foolish.

The afternoon sun beat down on them, and they dried off quickly. Pacing themselves adjacent, not quite together, single file. There were still traces of dirt smudging his skin and hers where the water had not touched them, hair tousled, clothes untidy. A long, wet smudge down her back. His mouth was still faintly dry. He wished he'd had brought his canteen with him.

Eventually, he decided to break the silence: "Annie?"

"What is it?"

He worked over the words in his mind, watching her back. "Don't — don't you think this is strange, how she's just, you know. Letting it happen."

He figured there wasn't any need to clarify who _she_ was; he wasn't exactly keen on dwelling on it.

"Not really," she said.

"It doesn't bother you?" Eren asked.

"I'm willing to make some sacrifices," Annie said. "I won't pretend to enjoy being trapped underground, or used as a test subject, or whatever catches her fancy. But I'd much rather be kept underground most days and smell a little if it means we'll at least be together."

He was still bothered, by principle, but he said nothing. She knew already.

"It's unpleasant," she concluded. "Not unreasonable. And it'll give the Commander something to fawn over, at any rate."

"_What_," Eren said flatly.

Smirking at the look of incredulity that crossed his face, she added: "Look, if you're worried about me getting pregnant, well…do you really think she'd ever shut up about it?"

Unsure if Annie was speaking for his benefit or if she really meant it, Eren scowled. "You don't know that."

"Don't I?" she replied, at ease, yet strangely sombre in the same instant. "It's what she wants, so there's really nothing to worry about."

"You're telling me this _now_," he said. It came out more severe than he'd meant; Annie stiffened, looked away. Gruffly, he asked: "What — what's the matter?"

"Nothing." Back to monosyllables.

He scowled. "Hey, don't give me that, okay? If something's, you know. Bothering you, we can talk. But I can't help you if you're just gonna…."

"I wouldn't have said something like that if I didn't mean it," she replied, familiarly terse.

"Neither would I." A long, poignant silence before he sighed, heavily. "She hasn't — asked you about this recently, or…?"

For a second Annie looked speechless. Then she scoffed: "What? God, no."

Eren had the feeling she wasn't being completely honest about this; then again, it had been a very personal question, and he couldn't imagine the Commander asking Annie something like that. But it didn't explain why she'd saw fit to bring it up, unless that was the point, that she trusted him enough….

"With that said," Annie went on before he could broach the matter further, "I think it'd be best to take these things into account." She paused. "I'll assume _this_ wasn't planned."

Eren was glad she was not looking at him anymore. "Not really, no."

"I didn't think so." Annie exhaled; he wondered if she was smiling. "We'd do best to talk now, while we have the time."

But they walked on for a while in silence, passing gradually through the forest and onto the edge of the training field.

"We'll just have to take more precautions in the future," Annie said. She turned to look at him this time, and her mouth was thin, but something shone in her eyes. "You game?"

"If you are," he said, a little nervous.

Her expression did not change. "If you're having second thoughts, now would be the time to let me know. We won't have another opportunity to talk like this for some time."

"My answer hasn't changed," Eren said.

Annie held his gaze. Neither of them wanted to look away.

"All right," she said finally. Paused before adding: "Next time, I'll come find you."

Eren chuckled. She offered him a side-glance, and an impish sort of smile. His stomach did another swoop, in temporary free-fall.

* * *

a/n ii: I changed a few details here and there, nothing major or plot-changing. Yeah, that's right, _I ret-conned the ret-con. _Chapter four up next, and then the long-awaited **Circles **will be published!


	4. Tension

_1850, two weeks prior_

* * *

It was a gloomy morning Eren arose to, which, considering the time of year, was not unprecedented. All the more convenient for their cause, or so Commander Hange had told him and her small squadron—all ten of them—on the cart ride. It took half an hour to reach the field in question, and by then the rain was coming down with a vengeance, leaving the party sodden and freezing in the cold dawn air. Mist was rising off the earth as they dismounted their horses and unloaded the tiny carriage, accentuating the already gloomy atmosphere of the surrounding plane.

The commander had been cheerful that morning, perhaps more than usual, even if the rest of her party had not. Eren, however, understood her good mood. The weather could not have been more perfect for concealing the residue of a Titan transformation. The ash and blood would be washed away by the rain, the lightning dismissed, most probably, as stray lightning.

The small group split up into pairs, lanterns and blades distributed among them, while Eren put a safe distance between himself and the rest of the squadron. At Hange's signal, he brought his hand to his mouth and called upon the beast. Within moments he stood, towering above the trees, nestled in the shell of his Titan. At his feet he could see little figures but could not discern them individually, just the flashing of their lanterns. He felt the cable pierce his Titan's leg, and then the sweep of one of the figures up to land on his shoulder.

"You all right, Eren?" Commander Hange yelled. Eren nodded. He knew what to do. "Good! Krieg, Richard, go for it!"

Krieg—or Richard, it was impossible to tell from here—launched towards him, blades drawn. Eren had only seconds to react. (The two boys, he recalled, were from a large group of newcomers who had been drafted into the Scouts, but was unsure from where. He wondered what they thought of being dragged out in the rain with their crazy commander, perhaps for their first mission. He smiled to himself; if it had been him confronted with a fifteen-metre Titan, fresh from Trost or the 57th Expedition, he'd probably have lost his mind right then and there.) He dug his heels into the earth, concentrated on the wound spreading up his leg. He did not have words to describe how the process worked, knew only that one moment the blade was cleaving flesh, the next, the weapon was embedded in his Titan's skin, now crystal. Someone whooped, most likely the commander, and Eren felt the little figure now attempting to pull his blade free.

"Excellent work, Richard! Come back down! Second group, he's all yours!"

And roughly half of the group came for him, leaving little nicks along his arms and legs in their wake. It was like battling a small army of well-organised gnats. Between this and the rain's interference, Eren suffered his fair share of injury before impeding the assault in much the similar manner he had employed before, and the crystal melded like candlewax to halt their weapons.

Commander Hange kept the process going for roughly half an hour, then called for a break because the rain was picking up again and visibility was greatly compromised. And Eren knelt down to the ground and exited the crumbling shell, and his first real sensation was the pelting water on his skin. A small crowd of soldiers clambered up to help him; all seemed anxious to draw near, and he could not blame them for it.

"Do you need help?" asked one of the pluckier boys, but Eren waved him away good-naturedly, the best he could with the bloody tendons still clinging to him.

"No, thanks. I got it." He pulled his arm free, skin raw but healing. The water stung but it was also a relief. Once he got both arms loose the rest was easy. He hauled himself up and out to pivot around, escorted down to earth by his fellows where he stepped away and let the rain wash over him. He was missing a boot and his gear had been absorbed but he hardly noticed. Yes, Eren was in high spirits; not only had this been an opportunity to make himself useful, but it also gave him a rare excuse to talk with Annie. She had finished her practice a while earlier, and now he approached the cart, still trailing steam, to find her sitting there.

"How are you?" was his first query.

"Adjusting," she replied. Her shirt clung to her frame, stained with blood and drenched in water. It looked uncomfortable. He sat a ways apart from her, more than a little impressed at the extent of her resilience; she'd rolled up her sleeves to combat the humidity but he'd kept his down. She was clearly being put to work, but there was still a sharpness in her form that he lacked. "How about you?" she asked. "Heard you've been keeping busy out here."

"Dunno who told you that," Eren said, with a trace of bitterness. "I've scarcely stepped outside in days."

"That's probably for the best, you know."

"What?" said Eren incredulously. "Are you saying you'd prefer to be kept underground?"

Annie shrugged. "I'd enjoy my freedom, if it was me."

"I wouldn't call this _freedom_," Eren replied. "More of a chance to be of some use." He was repulsed with himself even as he spoke; he sounded pathetic at best.

"Depends on your point of view," Annie replied, but her tone was listless, and he was bothered by her weariness. When he could stand it no longer he looked sideways at her, spoke a little quieter.

"They aren't pushing you too hard, are they?"

She smiled at that. "You should worry about yourself for a change."

"What do you mean?"

She gestured to his face. He hadn't thought she would notice. Hastily, he clapped a hand over his face, turned away. And Annie did something strange. She turned towards him and took his hand away from his face, and he watched while the blood trickled from his nose, feeling unguarded. Her eyes held no clear emotion, but her hand moved, hovered above his face and Eren was struck by an outlandish notion that she was going to touch him, then thought better of it.

"How long have you been bleeding like this?" she asked.

"It happens sometimes," Eren protested lamely, brushed her away. "M'fine. You don't have to worry about it." He wasn't sure why he was being so stubborn with her. He couldn't explain it to himself, either, and that fact was bothering him. Perhaps it was something to do with seeing the Female Titan again; he didn't know if he was ready to associate her with the monster, despite everything he now knew. It was simply strange to see the Titan in the flesh, just as he remembered, an unwelcome echo in his memory. But she was obviously trying to help him, and here he was stewing in past grievances.

Annie sighed. "It'll stop bleeding if you pinch it."

"Huh?"

"Your nose."

Eren looked at her. Her expression was still unreadable, her face pronouncedly sallow in the light of the artificial light from the lantern, emphasising the little pink-grey lines across her face, giving her the appearance of something ghostly, unearthly. He looked away. "How do you do it?" he asked, if only to think of something else.

The sky rumbled threateningly.

"Do what?" she asked.

"Keep transforming like this, hour after hour."

This time Annie looked at him and he felt her gaze pierce him like a knife, leaving nothing to hide. "Focus," she answered. "It's just another body. There's not much else to it."

Eren wished he could understand, or at least appreciate the ease of which she spoke. It made him restless, annoyed with himself. He was being ridiculous. Annie was not Mikasa. There was nothing to prove to anyone, here. He was supposed to be learning something from all of this, but he wasn't. Frustrated, Eren remained silent and solemn until Annie made to stand up.

"You want a hand?" he asked, hoping he sounded a little less bitter than he felt.

"I'm fine," she dissuaded him. A pause, then, almost hesitantly, she added: "Thanks."

* * *

Eren's mood was not improved by running into Jean a few hours afterward in the courtyard. It was less a confrontation and more a determined evasion, but their eyes met and there was a familiar disgruntlement exchanged, but nothing more.

"Jaeger," said Jean flatly, as a way of acknowledgement.

They regarded one another; Eren was still missing a boot and soggy with the falling rain. His scars had not yet faded. Jean seemed to decide that whatever he had instigated wasn't worth pursuing, because he turned away, much to Eren's annoyance.

"What do you want?" Eren asked. "Come to gloat?"

"Hardly," Jean said.

"Fine. Get to the point."

"Mikasa," Jean said. "Armin, too."

"What about them?"

"She's leaving tomorrow for the expedition. She and Armin and…most of us, myself included." When he looked at Eren it was not straight-on, and his smile was more like a grimace. "You're lucky they like you enough to keep you under wraps."

Eren almost laughed—did Jean honestly believe that he would rather be trapped underground all day with a bunch of terrified recruits, kept under Hange's watchful eye when he could have been another normal soldier, working with the Scouts, see his friends? "You're wrong," he said, but the retort lacked its usual bite, and Jean was smiling in a manner that kept him uneasy.

"Am I, really?" asked Jean, with the agitated confidence of one who has everything to gain and everything to lose by making their argument known to the world. "Come on. You know what I mean."

"How _is_ Mikasa, anyways?" Eren shot back. "Still ignoring you?"

Jean's haughtiness flickered. He glowered at him, but said nothing for a moment. "We'll be out of your hair by next morning. Thought you'd like to know."

Eren forgot to be irritated, taken aback by this act of candidacy. Jean only stormed away, looking sullen. Eren didn't know what to make of it. Surely Jean hadn't just given up? Failure had never stopped him in the past, so why should it begin to do so, now?

* * *

But Eren soon forgot about Jean in the face of seeing Armin and Mikasa. Lunch was starting; he ate in his cell and slept the rest of the day without bothering to undress, and woke up in early evening, damp from the rain and aching with hunger. By the time he got to the mess hall the place was emptying. He paid no heed; he hadn't come down here to eat, after all.

People took notice of him as he walked by and Eren wondered if he'd ever get used to the feeling of being someone's spectacle. It wasn't far-fetched; he had since dried off, but his scars were slow to heal and his clothes were scruffy. He looked out of place next to all of the other soldiers. He wondered if he was supposed to be self-conscious about this sort of thing.

To his relief, he was able to locate Mikasa quickly, sitting with Armin and a few of the others. He made a beeline for her. "Hey, Mikasa," he said.

She turned around, evidently surprised. "Eren? I thought you'd be busy."

"Hi, Eren!" Sasha called from Armin's left. Connie grinned, right next to her. Eren said hello and turned back to Mikasa.

"I wanted to drop in and see you guys before it was too late. How's Armin?" he asked her.

"Working," said Mikasa. "Sasha helped me convince him to come down to eat. We're nearly finished making preparations."

"Same with us," said Eren, then quickly added, "Miss Hange and I, you know. We're busy."

"I'll bet you are," muttered Armin under his breath. Eren looked at him, taken aback by this uncharacteristic snit.

"Aw, don't mind him," Sasha chimed in, "He's still griping o'er the fact that he can't come with us." She elbowed Armin in the shoulder and he bristled. "It's really not that exciting."

"Of course it's exciting!" Armin snapped, nose still in his book. "You're visiting one of the most historically renowned settlements in all of—"

"Anytime you want to switch places and have all the King's soldiers shootin' at you, I'll be happy to take you up on it," retorted Sasha.

"Your friend is also irritated because Connie made a bet with Sasha," said a girl with brown eyes and wavy, dirty-blonde hair whom Eren did not recognise, "regarding you and this other girl, as to which one of you would…how did she put it? I think it was 'give into temptation', or something like that." She sighed. "Well, they couldn't agree, so they asked Armin about it, but of course he insisted he didn't care."

"I _don't_!" Armin snapped at her, voice rising half an octave. "I've got a lot of important documents to read up on and this has nothing to do with anyth—" He stopped abruptly, apparently too incensed to speak. He glared at Eren as if daring him to challenge this. When Eren didn't, his anger seemed to subside into guilt. "Sorry," he said awkwardly. "I'm just, um…under a lot of pressure. It's got nothing to do with you personally."

"Later, Armin," said Mikasa. "We'll talk later."

Eren had no idea what to say. Sasha glared furiously at the other girl, who was now smirking at them all. "Damn it, Hitch, he wasn't supposed to know that! You've gone and thrown the whole bet!"

"Oh, for God's sake," Armin grumbled, elbows raised on either side of him to keep the others at a comfortable distance. Connie grinned towards Sasha, who was still fuming at Hitch, who had lost interest altogether.

"Well, these two were half-right," Hitch mused, gesturing at Eren. "You've definitely got an admirer."

Eren froze. He had a feeling he knew very well who it was, but it could be anyone, he told himself nervously. He felt Mikasa's eyes drift towards him warily. This did not help.

"I don't think she's aware you're on to her, yet." Hitch added, smirking. "Go on, turn around. She's two tables down from us." She tapped his shoulder.

Eren turned around so fast his knee caught the underside of the table, introducing an unpleasant numbness in his leg. Cursing, he looked out over the sea of recruits for the table Hitch had mentioned and promptly felt his stomach swoop as if he had just lost control of his manoeuvre gear; Annie was here, as well. She caught his eye, but he looked away before he had the chance to say hello. Why was he so nervous? Tension, he supposed. The notion made his pulse race for indiscernible reasons. Of course, he supposed, heart thudding anxiously. That was it. Tension between them.

He turned back, praying that he didn't look as emotionally laden as he felt.

"You're awfully jumpy, kid," Hitch observed.

Eren kept his mouth shut. Mikasa was still watching him from the corner of her eye. Hitch glanced over his shoulder, then back to him, raising her eyebrows. "Honest to God, she was looking at you. …Wait!" She grinned again, positively cat-like. "There she goes again, now, _look!"_

Annie was fine until Eren glanced right back at her, much to Hitch's approval. Their eyes met and something passed between them. She gave a kind of twitch, swivelled back in her seat, too anxiously to be natural. Hitch snickered. Eren didn't understand until he considered why Annie might have jumped like that, which took about three seconds, and another three to realise the ramifications of this act, innocent as it was.

_Oh_, he thought, and this was quickly followed with: _Oh, SHIT—_

He turned away just as quickly and caught his leg on the table again but didn't care. He knew the others had to know by now, the entire hall was probably watching them and Annie hadn't simply been looking at him, no, she had been _looking at him_. There were passing glances, and then there was…well, that. Why was she even here, anyways? Hadn't she had been retired to her cell, wherever it was? And what had brought it on?

He found Jean's gaze in the crowd of faces, returned with all the silent venom he could muster.

"Eren," said Mikasa quietly, firmly.

_"What?"_ he said hotly, then sobered. She remained unflinching.

"I said that we're going to be gone for a few days. Armin and I, as well as some others."

"Ah…right. For the mission?"

She nodded. He turned back to his tray.

"Sorry," he said after a pause. "I didn't mean to snap at you."

"I know you didn't," she replied.

Annie was no longer watching him.

* * *

As he was still healing, Eren took the rest of the night to sleep and woke early the next morning. Since he had little in the way of immediate duties, and Commander Hange was gone for the time being, he decided to take advantage of this rare opportunity at freedom to walk around for a bit.

Eren sat at an empty table and tried his best to appear unremarkable. It was quieter without the others. Armin, to the best of Eren's knowledge, was working with Commander Erwin. Sasha was gone, and, if what he'd heard from the passing cadets was to be believed, thoroughly incensed; apparently there had been a misunderstanding on her part, and she wasn't going on the expedition after all due to her erratic tendencies, among other things. Eren could only imagine what this entailed. Annie was nowhere to be found, though he had expected this.

As time passed, soldiers trickled in, and the room filled with drowsy chattering. A few kids he did not recognise sat down at his table but did not strike up conversation.

"Anyone sitting here?"

Eren looked up. It was the smart-alecky girl from the day before. "No," he said, somewhat curtly. She sat down. "Have we met?" he asked.

"I guess this is the first time we've been properly introduced." She extended a hand. "I'm Hitch. You are?"

He took it. "Eren."

"Eren, eh? Your friends told me who you were, but it's nice to meet you in person." Hitch released his hand, paused. "There was this girl I met back in my days in the Military Police. She knew an Eren. Of course, I'm sure there's plenty of Erens in the world." She chuckled.

Eren felt a little more at ease talking to her. "You were in the Military Police?" he asked. Hitch shrugged.

"Was, up until a couple weeks ago, what with the rebellion and everything." Seeing Eren's face, she added: "In hindsight, it was nothing that exciting. Really more of a sting operation. Me and this other guy were patrolling in the woods, when your people swooped in and basically inducted us right on the spot. Not that we had a say in the matter, 'cos they had us at gunpoint.

"It worked out in the end, I suppose, after that coup d'état. I'd be better off here with you lot than looking down the barrel of a gun in front of the whole military court. The food's definitely better, anyway." She sighed, almost wistfully. "God, they hated us in Stohess."

"You're from Stohess?" asked Eren.

"Originally Stohess, yes."

"And that girl you knew, was she from Stohess, as well?"

"She transferred into the Military Police after I did. She wasn't exactly the warmest sort. Then that disaster happened with Titans inside the walls, and I didn't see her after that." Hitch shrugged, but she was more reserved when she spoke. "I've heard some stuff about her. And I just can't believe it, you know? She was cold, sure, but she wasn't…." She stopped at the look on his face. "Something the matter? We can talk about something else, if this is bothering you."

Eren knew there was no way he should tell her what he knew, especially not in front of the whole dining hall. "It's not that," he said. "I'll tell you after you're done eating."

"Well, that works out perfectly," said Hitch. "I'm finished with this." She tapped her bowl with her spoon and retrieved her tray, made to stand. "I've got stable duties. Say, have you got any place to be in particular? I'd hate to get you into trouble or something; you seem like an all right sort."

Eren felt nervous, but Hitch was turning out to be much more of a reasonable person than he'd thought, so why not take a chance? "No, actually. We can talk outside." Hitch did not pursue their conversation openly, but she kept stealing suspicious glances over at him until he cracked. "Will you stop doing that?" he said finally.

"Sure, when _you_ stop avoiding the question."

"It's not—" Eren lowered his voice because a few curious stragglers were watching them now. "It's not something I want to talk about here."

"All right," Hitch sighed. "Let's go."

* * *

Once Eren was sure they had put a reasonable amount of distance between themselves and the rest of the scouts, he struck up conversation in the empty hallway.

"So. That girl from the Military Police. Did you know her name?" he asked.

Hitch blinked. "Annie Leonhardt? …Something like that, it definitely began with an 'L'. She was drafted straight from Trost, I remember that."

Eren felt the sinking feeling in his stomach for an entirely different reason. "This…is going to sound insane," he said finally. "But she's not dead."

Hitch frowned, unconvinced. "How can you know something like that for certain?"

"Because I, um. Knew her before I enlisted into the Scouts. Know her, actually." Hitch was looking at him oddly. "The girl," Eren said insistently. "Annie was the girl from yesterday. We know each other."

Hitch's reaction was pretty predictable. "But—WHAT? How does that—Captain Levi told us she was still—"

"It's a long story," Eren interrupted quickly. "But yes, she's alive."

The blood was steadily draining from Hitch's face. "You're joking," she said weakly. "Oh my God, that's not funny."

"I'm not," Eren said, wishing he could say he was.

Hitch gazed at him as if waiting for him to take it back, but he did not. She slumped back against the wall. "So what you're telling me is…Annie's not dead?" Her voice was low. Eren nodded. "God," she whispered again. "I can hardly believe it, it's like something out of a—" Her face lit up. "Hold on. Are you Eren _Jaeger_?"

"Yes," said Eren with some level of apprehension.

She looked him over for a moment. "You're younger than I would've thought you would be."

"That's all you have to say?"

"Well, what am I supposed to say after you tell me something like that? I'm not like you, all right? I need time to process what you're telling me."

"I really shouldn't have—" Eren began, but Hitch rolled her eyes.

"Oh, _don't_ you start with that nonsense," she said irritably, "for God's sake, this is the happiest moment of my enlistment; don't take it away from me."

Eren gave her a moment to collect herself. When they had walked on for a few minutes and were headed into the grounds, she struck up conversation again.

"So, Eren Jaeger. I've heard a lot about you. Nothing too funny, don't worry your head."

"You've heard about me," Eren repeated, wishing he hadn't said anything at all. Hitch shrugged.

"'Heard of you', sure. You're only the boy who stopped up Wall Rose and everything that came afterwards. Imagine, meeting someone that well-known to the general public. It's enough to make your head explode." She smiled good-naturedly. "Nah, I'm only joking. I don't think she trusts me very much."

"Who, Annie?"

"Who else? She hasn't changed much, has she?" Her tone was almost fond, sounded like something one might reserve for recalling a dear relative they had not seen in many years.

"How well do you know her?" Eren asked.

"Not as well as you, apparently."

Eren paused, turned around. "What's that supposed to mean?" he said testily.

"Well, she was my roommate for almost a month. I don't think I could know her better if I tried, but you two seem to go pretty far back, so I just figured…."

"Figured what, exactly?"

Hitch was indifferent to his query as they rounded the corner. "Just that you were friends," she said, but he had a feeling she wasn't being entirely truthful. "Annie wasn't awful, honestly…well, all right, we hardly ever talked, because she was always out on odd jobs. She was good at them, too, from what I've heard. Had a real knack for intimidation." Hitch trailed off, grinning, and Eren allowed her half a minute's reminiscence before he cleared his throat. Hitch blinked. "That reminds me…" She looked at him. "Are you scared of her or something?"

"Annie? Why would I be scared of her?" said Eren warily.

"Oh, I dunno," said Hitch, glancing disinterestedly at her blunt nails, "maybe because of how you reacted to her at lunch before. Not to mention she's definitely one of the weirdest kids I've ever met? And I like to think I've seen some odd ones, but she's just…have you ever tried speaking with her? It's as if you're talking to the wall. Sometimes I forgot she was there. I can't imagine how you two hold conversations."

"She's not that bad once you get to know her," said Eren coolly.

Hitch looked curiously up at him, a smile pulling at the corner of her mouth. "Bit touchy, aren't we? Is there something else I should know?"

Eren scowled, turning away, hastening his pace, hands in his pockets. Why did _everyone_ keep assuming that, he thought angrily. So they weren't exactly wrong―what did it matter if they were right, why did they always have to be so pleased with themselves? Was the concept of his friendship with Annie really such a fascinating subject?

"Oh, dear. I didn't know you two were so close. I was wondering why she reacted the way she did last time. Didn't think she was capable of making friends, let alone anything like this. Well, I suppose you're not exactly a social butterfly, either, so maybe that's why you two get along. No offense." Upon seeing his face, she made an effort to appear more understanding. "Listen, you seem all right. She's probably fortunate to have someone like you to talk with."

"What do you care if I'm friends with her?"

"Because believe it or not, I was once her friend, too," Hitch sighed. "Even if she doesn't like me very much, because I'm older and more outgoing than she is. Look, Annie doesn't have to fear, your secret's safe with me. That is," she sped up to walk side-by side with him, "assuming your little friends haven't caught on yet. But let's face it, they'd have to be _really_ stupid, because you two couldn't be any more obvious if you tried."

They had reached the stables. Eren was fuming; Hitch's smile widened. "Oh, come on, you saw how it is. So let me tell you something…Eren, is it? Right, if anyone attempts to bring this unbelievably obvious point to your attention, well, what have you got to lose? They're right, what do you care? Neither of you strike me the type to give a damn about these kinds of things, as it is."

"I didn't ask for the lecture," said Eren irritably, and his face felt hotter. "I didn't ask for any of this, actually."

Hitch remained unfazed. His reaction was clearly nothing new to her, and it only annoyed him further. "Kid, you and Leonhardt are probably going to thank me in a couple days. Take it from someone a bit older and wiser than you: if you want to regain some control over your little lives, start by taking matters into your own hands. If she isn't going to do it, then I guess the responsibility is on you. Yes, I know she's obstinate, but you've already told me she's not all bad, so I guess the two of you will get along splendidly, won't you?" Eren found he had nothing to say to this. "Now if you'll excuse me," Hitch concluded smugly, withdrawing a small neckerchief from her satchel to tie around her neck like a surgeon's mask, then gloves, and placed a hand on the stable door, "I've got work to do with a few colleagues of mine, and you two have your own troubles to sort out." And with that she opened the door, called: "OI! Anyone else in here?" Eren was still there when she turned back, utterly bewildered. "Guess not. Sometimes you have kids lurking about in here." She sighed. "Word of advice—whatever you two think you're doing, use some common sense and don't meet up in the stables—it's obvious, and you'll come out smelling like horse shit. All right, see you around."

She closed the door behind her.

* * *

Eren spent a lot of time mulling over what Hitch had said. And loathe as he was to admit it, she was right about a lot of things. So the next time he and Annie crossed paths, he caught her attention.

"Hey, er, Annie?" She paused, and Eren hadn't really thought about how to get across what he needed to say and maybe it would sound stupid, but he didn't care. "Look, this probably will sound strange regardless of the way I put it, but…I want to get to know you," he said. "As a person, I mean. I know that we train together, and we see each other's faces but we don't really know each other that well."

It was really a testament to their friendship, he thought, to know that she hadn't disappeared after he said this. She squared her shoulders, replied: "You know me well enough." There was an emotion in her voice that hadn't been there before.

"I _remember_ you, Ann. It's not the same as knowing someone." He got no reply this time, so he kept on going. "All I've got to go on are old memories of you, and that's not how I want to think when I see you, because…things were different back then. And it's not the same now, you know."

She was still there. He exhaled, waiting, when she actually spoke: "Really?" There was nothing sarcastic in her tone.

"'Course I do," he said, almost nonplussed as to why she'd ask him to reaffirm something like this. She looked at him with an expression that was somewhere between confusion and surprise, faltered slightly, looked away for a moment.

Annie wanted to respond but didn't know what she should say. It was all very…sudden. She let out the breath she forgot she'd been holding, asked, "So what brought this on?"

"What do you mean?"

"You've never asked me anything like that before."

"That's sort of the point. What I'm trying to get at is, well…you can think you know someone all your life, and never once come close to it." He took a breath, feeling jittery. "You understand what I'm getting at?"

"I think so." She took a chance, glanced sideways at him. "So now what?"

He grinned. It was as if a great weight had been lifted from his chest and he could breathe freely again. "I reckon we have to start somewhere."

* * *

_one week prior_

* * *

There was a feeling, as Eren stepped away from the water and journeyed back to land once more, of something missing, and also something restored. The earth was scorching under his bare feet, an inexorable reminder of their transgressions.

As he clambered up the bank, Eren took some time to think over this whole situation. He went back and forth and back again—maybe he was overcomplicating things. The heat left him unfocused. She had been warm and the thought was lingering. He felt a tug in his gut at the memory, shook it off, feeling foolish.

Her footsteps marked the dry earth. The afternoon sun beat down on them, the air was muggy. They paced themselves adjacent, not quite together, single file. There were still traces of dirt smudging his skin and where the water had not touched him, hair tousled, clothes untidy. They dried off quickly in the heat; Annie considered the possibility of sunburn. Her mouth was still very dry. She wished she had brought her canteen with her.

"Annie?" said Eren behind her.

"What is it?"

He worked over the words in his mind, heart pounding unreasonably in his chest, watching her back. "Don't—don't you think this is strange?" No response. Maybe he'd not been clear enough. "How she's just, you know. Letting it happen."

No need to clarify who _she_ was; neither of them were keen on dwelling on it.

"I'm well aware of that," said Annie, a little cooler than she had been before.

"Yes, but doesn't it bother you?" Eren stressed.

"I'm willing to make some sacrifices," Annie said. She stopped, turned to face him and her eyes met his, serious as he approached beneath the shadow of the canopy above them. "I won't pretend to enjoy being trapped underground, or used as a test subject, or whatever catches her fancy. But I'd much rather be kept underground most days and smell a little if it means we'll at least be together."

He was still bothered, by principle. "We're like a couple of lab rats."

He said nothing, didn't have to. She knew already. "It's unpleasant," she concluded. "Not unreasonable."

"It isn't…" Eren stopped himself. He'd been about to say _it isn't right_, but where was the sense in protesting when he was not sure himself, anymore? Was it so wrong to seek companionship over freedom, he wondered.

"With that said," Annie went on, "I think it'd be best to take these things into account." She paused. "I'll assume this wasn't planned."

Eren was glad she was not looking at him anymore. "Not really, no."

"I didn't think so." Annie exhaled; he wondered if she was smiling. "We'd do best to talk now, while we have the time." She started walking again. "Objectively, we have one day off, each, that's two days between us." She raised her hand and held up two fingers so he could see.

"To what?" Eren asked her.

"To talk, pick up where we left off previously since to—day. We'll just have to take more precautions in the future." She looked at him this time, and her mouth was thin, but something shone in her eyes. "You game?"

"If you are," he said, a little nervous.

This time she did smile. "If you're having second thoughts, now would be the time to let me know. We won't have another opportunity to talk at leisure for a little while."

"My answer hasn't changed."

She turned back again. "All right."

They walked on for a while in silence, passed through the forest and into the field.

"You'll have to trust me," she told him in parting.

* * *

Eren stirred, woke and found himself alone. The cell was dark enough that he could not see the guards. All was still. The nights were usually cold down here, despite the heat of summer. Yet he was not so: he had grown used to it a while ago. Filled with a restless energy, he lay awake, let his thoughts drift, hesitantly, to Annie. She had mentioned a plan, of sorts, but how did one plan such an excursion? The Regiment's guards were far more capable than those indoctrinated within the Military Police or Garrison. What were they to do in the meantime?

He played the memory of their last meeting over in his mind; she had looked at him, overshadowed by his body, wet from the water. And Eren understood. Oh, how he understood, and how he despised Horseface all the more for it.

Closing his eyes only made it more vivid. He rolled over, face hot, desire and confliction roiling in his heart and his loins. He cursed, strangely aware of the shortness of his own breath, opened his eyes and tried to ignore his obvious discomfort.

It didn't work.

Did she have sleepless nights and reckless fancies like he did? And if so, what if she was just as frustrated as he was, what if she lay awake, conflicted and yearning?

Suppose she didn't. Maybe he was just jumping to conclusions.

Eren swore under his breath. He was being ridiculous. This entire situation was ridiculous and he almost wanted to laugh. Almost.

He still felt undeniably _weird_ thinking about her naked, but her Titan was exactly that—a shell, curtailed, not perfect in its precision, skinless and inhuman—a mould to be peeled away and find another girl in miniature…. Except he knew the girl within, the humanity of her, and the little white scars trailing up from the corners of her mouth, down her chin, a web of lines spanning down her shoulders, marking them as equals, mirroring the beast in many ways but not quite all….

How it vexed him to think of her so! Take away his memories of her transgressions, leave him with the image of an ordinary girl. His abhorrence of the Female Titan and all it represented was interwoven between a strange, dodgy desire to follow her down the winding path of companionship. It was criminal to think of her when they'd been young and unsure and trapped on different sides, but he couldn't forget. And he allowed himself, tentatively, to imagine what it would be like to draw her into his arms, or let her take the lead, it didn't matter. In memories she was warm and soft and not quite yielding; in fractured pieces he let himself contemplate the shape of her, the weight of her and maybe a little more than that, until he sat up and pushed his head into his hands and asked himself if he was going to hell for this.

Too late. A flurry of conceptual imagery, and in his mind they became entangled. He fell back onto the mattress and ducked his head, exhaled into the shabby sheets under him and whispered a furtive apology to no one in particular. Fumbling with his trousers, he rolled over to face the dungeon wall. When he shut his eyes he could feel—envision—her shoulder against his lips and he lost himself for a little while. Flushed, curling into himself, nuzzling the jaw of an illusory girl. In his mind he ran his hand up her torso, over her chest and she sighed, pressing back into him. In reality his cock twitched under his hand and his teeth clamped down on the thin fabric of his pillow and he groaned hoarsely, brow furrowed. In his mind Annie tilted her head towards him, flushed and breathless, and whispered: "You're going to have to be quiet."

In reality Eren opened his eyes and he was alone and aching, breath ragged, heart stuttering in his chest. He licked his dry lips, uneasy, and wished he could answer her.


	5. Vim

_a/n: Basically the entire chapter (and bits of _**_Entr'acte_**_) turned out abridged because I couldn't stand the plodding length of the original, nor the logical fallacies. Seriously, to heck with logical fallacies. The real next chapter of IAaMoP (Circles) should be coming sometime this month or the next. But it will come_—_damn it, that wasn't a pun, don't look at me like that. But still, tremendous thank you to nanisketches for her super-rad fanart—seriously, it's just adorable. Those curious among you can find it on her aptly-named tumblr._

* * *

With the issue of their schedules and general periods of recuperation between Titan ventures, Eren had not yet seen Annie, or her new lodgings, for several days after the incident at the river. It was somewhat of a relief to be separated from her, almost sobering; still, there had been many a time—more than he cared to admit—in which he'd thought about seeking her out again.

And now that the Commander was gone on business, and many of the remaining 104th had since departed on their mission in the Capital, Eren found himself largely free of outside influence for the first time in weeks.

It was a slow and particularly unremarkable afternoon spent indoors to escape the heat. Treading about the halls, he found Annie with a greater ease than he had expected. She noticed his attention, and he approached her quickly, hardly daring to lock eyes for fear of revealing something to an unseen onlooker. Reaching her side, he stopped, knelt on the pretence of checking his boot, stealing a glance around; they were alone for the moment.

"Did you want a word, Jaeger?" said Annie.

Eren got to his feet. He had to stoop somewhat as he looked at her. "Yes, I was…." It was as if the mere idea of what he was about to do was stealing his words away. He collected himself. "Actually, I—I wanted to see you."

She raised her eyebrows, unmoved but for a subtle touch of amusement flashing in her eyes; perhaps it was only fitting that she would string him along a little. "Is that all?"

Eren scowled. "Huh? No, I just figured that—well, given the way things have turned out, now would be a good time to…."

There was a long pause while Annie considered him. "You're sure about this?"

"Of course I am," Eren said, perplexed that she would ask him such a thing when _he_ had come out of his way to find _her_.

"Because it's all right with me if you want to take some initiative," Annie continued. "I do appreciate it."

Eren blinked. "Um. You do?"

Annie offered her hand wordlessly. He took it, half-expecting her to shake it, and she leant in.

"Go down the hall and turn right," she muttered. "I'm three cells down and to the left."

Something small and metallic slipped into his palm.

"Wait, when should I…?" Eren asked, feeling nervous.

"Come back in ten minutes." Annie said, squeezing his hand very lightly before she departed. "And relax. You'll give yourself away."

When he opened his fingers he saw that she'd given him a key.

* * *

The ten minutes went by pretty swiftly, and finding Annie was relatively seamless; all Eren had to do was keep his head down. Following her directions, he found a door that was just as unremarkable as any other in the stony corridor. He raised a hand to knock, then stopped, because he figured that would probably come off as suspicious to the nearby guards—before realising there were no guards.

This gave him a moment's pause. He raised his hand again with purpose, rapped once and stood back, ears peeled for footsteps, but there was nothing.

Then the door cracked, and Annie was there, dressed in off-white shorts and a rough-hewn shirt. Without a word she stood back, opening the door for him; Eren stepped in quickly as she closed it behind him.

"The door locks," said Annie quietly. "We'll be fine."

Eren looked briefly at her, unsure where to begin, taking in his surroundings.

The room itself was much larger than his own; the walking-space, however, was roughly equal to size of his quarters. There was a small bed laid with thin sheets. An old wood dresser stood to the far left with a cracked mirror _en suite_. A few chairs were pushed back along the walls, and a glass vase sat on an end-table by the bed, empty and forlorn. A large collection of furniture and debris was pushed to the other side of the room, collecting dust. The only real source of light came from the barred window above.

"So," Eren began tentatively, peeling his eyes away from all the desolate fittings and back to Annie, who was now perched on the bed, "do you mind telling me where the guards are?"

"They won't be a problem," she said. "I paid them off. We have about an hour to ourselves, I think."

Eren stared at her, uncomprehending. "What?"

She raised her eyebrows, unperturbed. "What do you mean, _what_?"

"I mean—how did you manage that?" he asked, a little envious.

She smirked. "Easy. I have a clean record, and the Commander needn't know everything that goes on in her absence. And you keep looking at the door, I already told you, it locks."

Eren was reassured, but only slightly; the thought had only just occurred to him: _How do you know the guards don't have spare keys to our cells?_ Annie remained quiet, assessing him.

"Well, I like what you've done with the place," he said, in an effort to break the awkward silence.

Annie rolled her eyes. "You're very funny. I found half these things in that pile of rubbish." She motioned towards the collection of detritus. "I'd offer to loan you some but there's really no way to get it out of here without being noticed." She sighed. "I don't know why I bothered touching it, really. None of it is particularly useful."

Eren walked over to the table to check the vase, found it dry, and strangely free of dust. "You salvaged all this?" he asked.

"I'll probably find a use for it," said Annie.

He met her eyes, chest fluttering a little as she approached—her steps were quiet; he realised she was barefoot—and her kiss was brief, warm like a welcome.

"You look surprised to see me," she murmured, tucking her head into his breast. She smelled faintly of iron and soap. He embraced her.

"You're clean," he noted.

"Mhm," replied Annie.

Eren found it difficult to meet her eyes as she pulled back to look at him. Annie remained unfazed.

"Have you got any other obligations?" she inquired.

"Er. No, I don't think so," said Eren.

She smiled a little. "Good. I won't be missed, either."

Eren was struck by the convenience of this notion, though at a loss for what to say. There was an unspoken sentiment that remained in her expression as she stepped back. Eren followed, closing her in 'til she was nearly sitting on the aged dresser, hands on either side of her. Annie leant up, cupped his face and, at last, closed the gap between them.

He made a little sound in the back of his throat, like a sigh, or perhaps a groan, pulling her close. Annie smirked against his mouth and moved things along, nipping at his jaw, his lips, and when he gasped she was content, advancing like this was just another fight, her tongue against his teeth and fingers threaded in his hair. Eren kissed her back, cradling her head in his hands with his knees sandwiched between hers.

But then she broke off, head tipped and mouth to his naked throat. Eren huffed, hands sliding up her back, and felt naught but skin beneath thin fabric; his heart leapt. She looked at him briefly, a faint flush creeping over her skin, and leant back to pull her shirt over her head while Eren took her in with a hushed interest.

"You've seen me before," said Annie, not quite looking at him.

"Well, you…you're really something, you know," he replied. Annie blinked, her face a little warmer. Likewise, Eren went pink, didn't talk further.

Annie sighed after a moment, said, "Eren," and when he looked to her she took a seat upon the dresser, ushering him in. He had to stoop slightly in order to kiss her, trailing down at his own discretion. She shivered in his grasp, and when he ran his tongue over a nipple, hissed when he took it between his teeth.

He stopped to murmur: "That all right?"

"You're learning," she acknowledged, her breath a little heavier.

Eren grinned. "If that's what you want to call it." He switched hand and mouth around, and in his touch there remained a paradox of caution and self-assurance. Annie sighed, tousling his hair before he nosed back up to her throat again, kissing her mouth, just because he could.

"Let's move on," she said. He afforded her a lingering glance. "You're fine," Annie said, feeling awkward; she didn't really want Eren to stop, but she was also kind of impatient. "I just think we could—explore this another time."

He raised his eyebrows. "We have an hour, don't we?"

"We should. I'd rather not push our luck."

She shrugged out of his loose grasp and got to her feet again, shoving down her trousers without flair. She felt a little jolt run through her as he undid his belt.

Her stillness was what alerted him; Eren looked up, flushed and a little self-conscious in his shirt and undershorts as his trousers hit the floor with a muted _clank_. "Ah. I—it was getting uncomfortable, that's all."

She said nothing. His countenance relaxed, and he stepped free of the pooling fabric.

"I'm not going anywhere," he told her.

"I know," she said, softly.

Eren stopped, locking eyes with her a moment. "Well," he said, shuffling forward, "we still have an hour."

"I said we _should_ have an hour," Annie replied stiffly.

"You did." He caught her by the waist and thrust, gentler than she'd expected; she huffed.

"So, what are you going to do with me in an hour?" she asked, gazing at him through her bangs.

His thumbs dragged idle circles on her skin. "I dunno, Ann, what do you want me to do?"

"Hm? I thought that was obvious."

Eren smirked. "Y'know, for someone who doesn't like to talk all that much, you're not very subtle." He kissed her forehead, one hand slipping between her legs. Annie squirmed as he worked, her breath resolute but quickly turning ragged.

Then he paused, asked: "You trust me, don't you?"

"Obviously enough to invite you into _my _room," she muttered.

"Not for anything else, though?" Eren pressed, grinning.

Annie chuffed. He sank before her, stopped within centimetres of contact.

"You'll tell me," he said, gruffly, "if it's too much, or—if it _isn't_…?"

The way his voice faltered gave her pause. Their eyes met and Annie felt a new rush of anticipation chase up her spine, echoed in the pit of her belly.

"I, erm—sure," she mumbled. Eren gave her hips a slight squeeze before ducking down. Annie went very still, redistributing her weight against the dresser, legs taut, trembling.

Every now and again he would steal a glance upwards as though waiting for something, though Annie wasn't sure what. It was in this way that he seemed to gauge her reactions, kissing her awhile, pulling back to catch his breath.

"Do you need something?" she panted at last, her voice and body each trembling in respectable measure.

"No," he replied thickly, "I'm good."

She leant forward in anticipation, then gasped when his tongue slid against her, startling him in turn; his nose bumped her groin and he pulled back sharply.

"Whoa," he huffed. "You all right, there?"

"Hah? Nothing's wrong," she assured, regaining some composure.

"…I didn't scare you, did I?"

Annie snorted. "No." He looked surprised as she took his face in her hands, passing her thumb over his nose, the corner of his mouth. "You're a bit of a mess, though," she muttered, and her cheeks went pink as she spoke. Eren brushed her away, similarly flustered.

"If I didn't scare you, then why'd you—?"

"Look, it's nothing complicated," Annie told him, a bit brusquer now, "just…kiss me."

Eren leant in and started kissing up her leg, unhurried. Annie put one leg over his shoulder and guided him closer.

"I want you to finish me," she whispered, and there was a need in her voice she'd not bothered to mask.

"Mhm."

His pace did not change. She scowled a little, tugging at his hair to take back some influence. Eren grunted in protest, squeezing her harder than was necessary, so Annie relaxed her grip. Now there was an edge to his affections that hadn't been there before, little hints of teeth and tongue all up and down her thighs.

Annie growled in frustration, close to doubling over with a fist curling on his shoulder and the back of his head. "Would it kill you to be a little less _apprehensive_—?"

Eren acknowledged her concerns by burying his head more completely in her lap, clasping at her back and the swell of her arse, eliciting a sort of inhibited moan from her.

"Since when've I ever come off as apprehensive?" he said huskily, then stopped talking to impart another kiss, slower, but none-the-less ardent for it.

Incredulity rendered her temporarily mute—she wasn't sure how she was supposed to answer that, or if it was even worth the expenditure—but she was quick to recover, retorting: "You don't even know what you're doing to me, do you?"

"S'that what this is about?" Eren breathed. "You really think I'm—" he stopped to grace her with a relatively well-spotted kiss; Annie gasped, shying away as he went on "—that this stuff doesn't cross my mind, or…?" He glanced up as if seeking confirmation. Annie stared at him, to which Eren let out a raspy bark of mirth that echoed off the stone. "'Cause it—it's kind of hard not to think about you, sometimes…" he admitted woozily.

Annie offered a quiet, anxious sort of smile, parting to him. She was very pretty when she smiled; Eren felt heat rise in his cheeks, trailing upwards in centimetres and—

"Oh, _God_," she sighed, disturbing his hair again, one heel knocking his back.

"Close?" he murmured, pulling away, stroking her in circles, trying to catch his breath. She groaned a bit; her hips churned, stuttered. Eren hummed, affording her another, lingering kiss, ready for it.

Annie didn't snap all at once, but in fragments; first, she was silent—virtually—trembling so much that Eren held her close for fear she'd fall right on top of him. Her legs drew tight, tighter around his shoulders.

"C'mon," Eren said, grinning cockily up at her. "I've got you."

Annie emitted a funny noise, too thready to be a groan and lower than a squeak, her voice cracking with effort as she twisted up against him; Eren was temporarily overwhelmed, both hands brusque on her hips as he pushed her back down. He kissed her again, and she moaned, almost helpless but not quite.

In due course her trembling abated, and she was relatively calm.

"You know, for a minute there I thought you were gonna suffocate me," Eren said gruffly, peeling himself away.

Annie stirred. "If it's any consolation, I'm quite confident in your ability to keep me from suffocating you."

"…um," said Eren, who could not help feeling that this was a very odd thing to say, but also taken by the subtle way in which her legs shifted apart, crossed at the ankle. He looked away from her, by now uncomfortably hard in his pants.

She smirked, said: "C'mere."

Eren stood up, silent above her, flushed and wary. She closed the space between them, drawing him in, her legs hooked halfway around his waist. The tension was nearly unbearable; he actually sighed in relief when she pulled him out, gooseflesh prickling on his skin.

"Don't you want to be inside me?" Annie murmured, and he jumped a bit, legs pressed uneasily into the wood.

"God, Annie," he said hoarsely. "Are you serious?"

"Do I look serious to you?"

Eren groaned a little. "You always look serious."

Annie coaxed him down into another kiss. It was easy to forgo the dull ache in his knees, rocking into her palm while her free hand strayed over his chest.

"Ann," he croaked, feeling distinctly vulnerable.

She hummed inquiringly. He grabbed her wrist.

"I—look, if you really are serious about—" she gave him particularly evocative stroke and Eren jolted, self-possession snapping alongside his patience "—god_dammit_, if you want anything _in_ you at all, th-then—"

Annie paused, regarded him peculiarly, as if this sort of reckless outburst was what she'd been waiting for all along. She scooted back to permit him closer; they met, and both shivered. Eren didn't get a chance to do much else, though, because Annie frowned slightly, sat up, hands on his chest.

"Not this way," she muttered, pushing him back so she could stand, twisting around to rest on her hands. "My back's all stiff."

"You want my shirt?" he asked.

"What am I supposed to do with your shirt," Annie muttered. "Are we doing this or not."

Eren sighed, kissed the top of her head. "Never-mind," he told her, hauling her close while he slipped his other hand up her leg, stroking her in aimless circles 'til Annie groaned imploringly, and he was sure.

"Might come as a surprise," Eren muttered, guiding himself against her, "but I'm not really used to this." Annie actually turned her head to stare at him. "The position," he clarified, feeling spectacularly awkward. "You know." He pressed up; she pushed back harder and he sank in almost too easily, and both startled.

Annie recovered first, to a certain degree. "Well, it can't be that complicated if you're—_oh_." She cut off, and Eren pulled her up against him.

"We probably shouldn't talk right now," he said huskily, releasing her waist. He let Annie brace herself accordingly before gathering her to him once more. This was easier, but now he couldn't see her face, just her shoulders, and her hair, still tied up but coming loose, the contours of her back and spine and the swell of her hips, draped in shadow where he covered her. The light filtering from outside cast everything in harsh white, the gleam of the sun on water and glinting steel—he thought first of fire, then of her eyes, her skin, took the moment to lean in, nose brushing her jaw.

"Hey," said Eren quietly. She tilted her head towards him, one pale eye affixed on his face in the empty light, bangs half-obscuring her face in a thin curtain of wheat-gold, colour gracing her cheeks. He kissed the corner of her mouth, felt her smile. "I want to see you," he admitted.

"Look up," was all she said.

Eren saw the dusty mirror first, cracked and imperfect, the reflection of the room and her frame shifting back into place underneath him, head ducked, shoulders squared, braced on her elbows. He met his own gaze, green and hazy, let his free hand drift up briefly, cupping her breast, then receded, gripping her waist and the surface of the dresser.

"You're a little cold," he murmured, just to pass the time.

"Mm?"

"Your body," he said, pausing to grace a kiss to her shoulder, her nape. "S'cold."

"Yes, I'm _naked_," Annie grumbled, not as content to ease into his slower rhythm, nor to explain things in the midst of this. "And you can go a little harder than that, I won't break."

Eren smirked, testing his weight before he ground up quickly, dragging a kiss with teeth against her shoulder as she startled. Feeling a little braver, he dipped one hand between her legs, hid his grin in the crook of her shoulder while Annie shook, winding back against him for a few more thrusts.

"That enough for you?" he teased, pausing to steady himself.

Annie groaned, turning her head to hiss: "Don't even start with that."

"All right." He kissed her cheek, adding: "You'd better hold on to that dresser."

"Hrmmph," said Annie.

He started off slow, and it wasn't perfect—her supporting arms were rather stiff and the edge of the dresser ground into her stomach and hips with their rhythm. On occasion he'd brush something that made her gasp, arching.

"Whoa," she heard him mumble. "Easy, there."

"You shouldn't hold back," she said airily, reaching over to scratch at his thigh.

"Mm," Eren said, pulling away, hands encircling her waist. "Then I won't." He shuffled closer. "You ready?"

She nodded. He kissed the spot between her hunching shoulders as tenderly as anything. Annie bit her lip again, averting her eyes from her reflection.

"Actually…could we just move to the bed?" she asked.

Eren stopped. "That's your call, I think."

"Hm?"

"I mean…" he leant down, nudging her with his jaw, "it's _your _bed."

"So put me on it."

"…hold on a minute?" Eren muttered.

Annie gasped as the world turned asunder, then she was back against the dresser and they were nose-to-nose, chest-to-chest. Eren pulled her up into his arms.

"I won't drop you," he reassured, somewhat needlessly.

Annie felt strangely weightless, her forehead to his shoulder, legs half-wrapped around his waist. Soon enough she hit the bed with a soft _flump_, and Eren stood over her. Now her eyes flickered to fix on him, ice swallowed up by the ink of her pupils. Wordlessly, she raised her hips, bit back a moan as he filled her.

For a moment he looked lost, wrapped up in the feel of her. When he was able to gather his wits she was drawing him close, and closer. Her thighs edged against his stomach as he pushed; Annie gasped.

"God, that's it," she mumbled, voice shaking. "That's good."

He fell to a rhythm, picked up the pace; neither of them were apt to wait any longer. Her arms came around his neck, pulling him down with her. His hands cupped under her arse as she wound into him.

"Annie," he growled, eyes fluttering, "I-I'm—" He squeezed her hips, hoping she understood what he was getting at.

She rocked up languidly. Eren choked on a groan. "You can finish with me," she offered, reaching up to ruffle his hair.

Eren looked at her, dazed, his body humming with tension. "Well, I…I'm pretty close," he admitted, half-grinning.

She cupped his face, said: "C'mere." Eren pulled her close. "Look at me," she told him, panting, and he felt her arm shift between their bodies. He tried to watch what she was doing but Annie kissed him again. Eren shuddered, kissing back warmly; he was close, so close it was maddening.

"Just—a little more," she mumbled, pressing into him, uncharacteristically feverish, "I'm almost…."

Eren hauled the whole of her into his lap; Annie looked genuinely startled, then smirked, leant back, rocking of her own accord. He tried to match her, to catch his breath but couldn't, couldn't. It hardly mattered. He broke first, holding her hips. Annie hissed, rocking all-the-more surely into him. Soon enough her rhythm faltered; she froze, then gasped, arching over him with a little cry. Dazed as he was, all Eren could do was watch her come undone. He reached out to steady her waist. Annie startled, gazing down at him, brushed pink and wide-eyed, still panting. He could not help but smile.

Intrigued, he shifted his weight, felt her shudder; Eren figured she was still pretty sensitive. When he sat up she raised her eyebrows, but the most he did was press a gentler kiss to her mouth.

"Sorry," he muttered. "I've just…really wanted to do that for a while."

"I could tell."

Eren felt his face grow warm again. "…I meant the kiss, but…yes. All this, as well."

She let her eyes drift briefly downwards, then back to him, expression placid. "So, is it safe to say you were right?"

"About what?"

"About how _persuasive_ I am."

He stared at her, disconcerted. Annie smiled plainly. He huffed, pulling her close. "Oh, come _on_," he groaned.

She sighed, almost wistfully. "I'm not letting that one go."

Eren leant forth, still grinning, and pulled her into a proper kiss.


	6. Entr'acte

_A/N: Chapters five (Vim) and six (Entr'acte: this one) have undergone major and minor revisions, respectively, all in favor of keeping continuity. I've re-uploaded chapter six in order to get the newer, fresher version out for easier access by viewers like you. Sorry if there's any confusion! Again, Chapter VII (Circles) should be done (hopefully!) by this month._

* * *

In the aftermath it was quiet. The light of mid-afternoon still shone in as Eren took a seat upon one of the standing chairs, while Annie dressed and left shortly afterwards.

"I'll be back in a few minutes," she told him in parting. "Wait here."

So Eren spent the next few minutes redressing, doing his best to look irreproachable, and as he did so, came to the sharp and sudden realisation that he did not know how long it had been since he had stepped through her cell-room door. Annie had not appeared to be concerned before she had left, and though Eren took some comfort in this fact, he could not help but remain on his guard. After all, the only factor that separated his current situation from something resembling incarceration was the privilege of remaining in Annie's company…and even that was predicated upon an ambiguous sense of privacy.

Disregarding the cold of the cell—if anything, he was a step past comfortably warm—Eren continued to reflect. He and Annie were not prisoners, but they weren't exactly being treated the same as the other soldiers, either. The distant noise of birds and fellow soldiers passing overhead echoed eerily off the stone walls, as though to mock him further.

Then there came a knock at the door. Stirred from thought, Eren quickly checked his appearance in the mirror, readjusting his collar before he traipsed over to the door. Here, he hesitated, wondering if it was Annie's guard, making an early and unexpected return, or even the Captain—though unlikely, it would not have been the first time something like this had happened. Bracing himself for the better or the worse, Eren pushed the door ajar.

He looked out onto the stone threshold, realising that he had neglected to come up with a proper response. Annie saved him from the necessity, asking: "Are you going to let me in my room?"

Eren stepped aside, watching her with a mixture of relief and uncertainty. "How are things, out there?" he asked.

"We should be fine, for now," Annie said.

As Eren watched her mosey about the room, he found himself wishing, as he sometimes did, that he could be more like her; cool and collected, but still circumspect enough to be sensible.

"Do you still have that key I gave you?" she asked, out of the blue.

"I should," he answered, checking his pockets for the insistent press of metal against his skin. "Here."

Annie took it from him. "Thanks," she said, and walked towards the door.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"To wash. You should, as well."

"Right now? But—you don't have anything to clean _with_," Eren said.

Annie threw him an odd look. "I can just take care of it now."

And from beneath the jumble of furniture by the doorway she procured an indeterminable bundle of items, and returned to unload it all upon the end table. He could see a tin, which she placed upon the floor, a rag and a cake of soap. She divested herself of shirt and trousers, put one foot up against one chair and took to scrubbing her body from the shoulders down. Eren looked away, feeling immodest.

"I've still got water," Annie informed him, once she was finished. "Feel free to use it if you want."

"Um," said Eren.

He heard her exhale, looked over and found her nude, relatively composed 'til their eyes met, lingered. "You _do _want to be clean, don't you?" she asked, faltering slightly.

Eren nodded. Annie threw him the rag, and he caught it, unbuttoning his shirt and trousers, all jittery as he moved over to occupy the chair beside the tin.

"I won't look if it bothers you," she told him.

Silently, he was thankful. There was little talk as he washed himself. He wished he could be cleaner, but there was a limit to what one could achieve with a cake of soap and a ratty cloth. He finished his business, dipping the rag in the water and wringing it out a few times.

"You'll want to find another rag, I think," he told her, somewhat guiltily. Annie said nothing, only shrugged. Eren hesitated a moment, then added: "Thanks, for everything."

"It's the least I could do," she told him.

There was a small, thin silence as she redressed, and he did the same.

"You know why this is the way it is, of course," Annie said, in a tone that clearly indicated they were not about to discuss the matter at intricate length.

"Well, of course I know _why,_" Eren replied. "But the Commander isn't here, yet, is she?"

"You really think she wouldn't take the opportunity to have someone else oversee some of her tests?"

"No," Eren said. "She's not about to hand that over to anyone." Saying this aloud was strangely reassuring. Annie sat upon the bed again, cross-legged and at ease. Now that she was in closer proximity, he could see how the baggy material of her linen shirt gathered under her body, doing little to hide the contours of her form.

"Are you all right?" Eren asked softly, sensing something was off, sitting tentative and adjacent to her on the bed.

Annie did not answer him at first. The light on her face drew out her expression; she looked pensive, frowning slightly. "It's ridiculous, isn't it? The lengths you and I are willing to go to see one another."

"I don't think it's that ridiculous."

"You'd say that," she muttered. A moment after, she asked, "Do you, really?"

"I wouldn't tell you something if I felt otherwise."

She flashed him a crooked little smile; it faltered quickly. "I was thinking, actually," she admitted.

"About?"

Colour in her cheeks again. She stole a glance at him then looked away. "It's nothing important."

"You're being awfully secretive," Eren said.

That earned him a dry chuckle. "It's ridiculous," she insisted. "You'd laugh, and I wouldn't blame you."

"Why would I laugh?"

Now Annie looked at him, stoic. "I think we could benefit from being a little more _inventive_ when it comes to this sort of thing."

"'Inventive'?" Eren echoed.

She scowled. "It's the only word I could think of that wouldn't sound stupid."

"Oh," said Eren, regarding her anxiously. "How much time d'you think we have?"

"Not nearly enough," she grumbled.

"…do you want me to leave you alone?" he continued.

"No. I hardly ever see you anymore."

"All right." Another pause. "Is there anything I can do?"

Annie stared at him a moment. Eren looked back at her. She exhaled quietly. It wasn't like she could explain that he was, however unwittingly, part of the issue, or the fact that she was also a contributor in equal measure, so she settled for silence. She sat like that for a while, until Eren called her attention.

"It must be getting close to the hour," he said, indicating the pale light coming through the window. "I should probably go."

She was only a little disappointed as she said: "If you must."

Eren paused by the door. "I'll come back if you like."

Annie looked at him, curious. "When will you be back?"

"I'm off in the afternoon, to-morrow; I could stop by then."

* * *

_When the knock came at the door early next morning her eyes were open and her breath was fluttery. She sat up slowly, unsure what to expect but foolishly hoping for the best. For a second she wondered if she dared call out, then decided not to._

_She crept over to the door, barefooted. There was a slot in the door about eye level. Hands trembling, she opened it, squinted through the aperture._

"_Annie?"_

"_It's unlocked," she heard herself say. She stepped back and allowed him to invite himself in._

"_I said I'd come back, didn't I?" he greeted. She found herself at a loss for words and looked long and hard at him in the slow-mounting light. He seemed to falter somewhat; blinking, he leant down and kissed her softly, as though to reassure her. "Are you all right?"_

"_Yes," she said, almost giddily. It was a very strange sensation that afflicted her, somewhat like panic: a frenetic, burning kind of delight. "We'll have to be quiet, but…."_

_He closed the door, kissed her mouth as though they'd been separated for weeks, months instead of hours. She couldn't stop trembling, wasn't sure why. The question of how or when precisely she discarded her clothes and righted herself on-top of him seemed vastly irrelevant at the moment._

_She looked down again and his hair was mussed by her fingers, his eyes nearly black instead of green, and his skin glowed with the pale pink light of dawn trickling in from above. He ran his hands up her body and she shivered at the vaguely unfamiliar pressure of his palms._

_"Won't you ever bore of this?" she muttered. "Of me?"_

_He gave her shoulders a gruff sort of squeeze that might have been intended to assure her, but only succeeded in making her jolt._

_"Not so far," Eren answered. "There's a lot more things I haven't learned, and—I want to, still."_

_Annie smirked. "There's a limit to how far you can get with that sort of talk, you know."_

_He kissed her collarbone and nudged his chin over her sternum; she swallowed an anticipatory noise, could feel the way he beamed against her skin._

_It struck her suddenly that he'd declined to discard his night-shirt or trousers, and she was naked but for her thighs tangled in her pyjamas. She wanted flesh instead of fabric beneath her hands for a reason she couldn't quite identify. Eren seemed rather enthralled in what he was doing, though, and she didn't feel a pressing need to interrupt._

_He pulled her down, slowly, rolling over so he was on top. Her head was pressed at an odd angle against the wall, and she thrust her hips to get his attention. He grunted softly and changed tactics, rolling instead of rocking against her bare flesh, and she clamped her jaw down upon his shirt because she didn't trust herself to stay quiet._

_"What do you want?" he asked, looming over her, voice warm, but husky with desire._

_Annie sighed, long and low, eyes lidded as she settled back onto the cot. "Kiss me?"_

_Eren huffed. Cupped her jaw and pecked her once on the lips, murmuring, "That can't be all you want."_

_She allowed herself a rare, half-smile, and opened to him. "It isn't."_

_Eren didn't move at first. Just looked at her as she'd looked at him, like he was trying to memorise the scene and the shape of her, sprawled out under him. Slowly, he leant in, kissing her brow._

_Annie let her eyes fall shut. His hands were warm and heavy on her shoulders, over her arms and breasts and stomach; descending, he disentangled her from her pants, repositioning her body against the mattress so he could press a warm, open-mouthed kiss into her flesh._

_Her breath hitched. "E-Eren?"_

_"Shh," he soothed, nuzzling her hip, his breath a little rougher. "Not yet." He burrowed in and Annie sighed all the more deeply, toes curling. "I thought you said we'd have to be _quiet_," Eren mused, pulling back. He was braver, now he understood how to leave her shuddering under him, pent-up and gasping into her fist. She'd have to think about this at length, when she was far less occupied by the way he was gazing at her._

_"Don't speak, then," she told him. His hands spread under the small of her back, and she raised herself accordingly._

_He was definitely more attentive, and not exactly refined in his affections but it didn't matter, nothing really mattered except for the curious, pleasurable little buzz whenever his tongue slid against her. She could stop him, she mused, with her legs. Pin him down, keep him there. It was dangerous to underestimate him when he had her like this, vulnerable and open and—_

_Humming, Eren tilted his head upwards, covered her with his mouth. Squeezing her eyes shut, Annie pressed her head to the mattress and her fist to her mouth, moaning over his name; pretty much any-thing he did from this position had her writhing._

_"Ha-ah…God, I want you," she admitted, curving under him, sheepish with conviction._

_"Hm?" Eren nosed down to press a chaste, teasing sort of kiss over her entrance._

_Annie startled, snapping up to growl: _"Eren!"

_"I know," he murmured dreamily. "I want you, too." She worried his hair again, and his eyes flickered to her face. "Ready?"_

_She bit her lip, nodding, and Eren dragged his mouth from her thigh to her belly, hands on her waist and trailing up, and Annie wrapped her legs around him, wound up at the mere suggestion of it, tight enough to _snap…!

Annie gasped harshly, and Eren immediately let her go. And she reached forth to usher him back, tell him he'd been fine, better than fine, even, and instead found nothing but air. And when she opened her eyes she was alone and her body was sheened in sweat, almost desperately aroused. Freshly conscious of the fact that she was biting her pillow like an idiot, she stopped this immediately, pushed it away and rolled onto her back with a quiet sigh that sounded more like a whimper.

She heard no questioning statements from any-body. Slowly, she relaxed, heart hammering. She saw that the sky was indeed pink, heralding the crimson-orange glow of sunrise.

Her thighs and hand remained uncomfortably sticky as she dressed in silence, and she wondered if she would have enough time to wash before the rap at her door roused her to action. There was a second round of knocking as she was pulling up her trousers. She hastened to wipe her hand on her shirt and stalked over, not in the mood to talk to anyone unless it was out of necessity. Steeling herself for the inevitable, she came to the door.

"You've got a visitor," the guard said dryly, opening the door for her.

"Morning," said Eren cordially.

"Ah. Morning," she muttered, feeling horribly self-conscious. "…Can you wait a minute? I really need to change my shirt."

The guard sort of sighed, with an air of one who has long since become resigned to the insipid nature of his post.

"Go right ahead," said Eren, and shot the guard a cross look that went unrecognised.

Annie saw none of this, closing the door a touch too quickly to be natural, searching for the washbasin. She shoved her trousers down and grabbed the sodden, cold rag, rinsing herself in a panic. She used a spare towel to dry off and hauled her trousers back on.

"I thought you were going to change into a new shirt," Eren said, looking confused. Annie did her best to appear as though his statement was a surprise to her.

"Ah. Did I say that?"

He grinned. "Did you sleep at all last night?"

She shot him a sharp look and hoped he wouldn't ask any more questions.

"I know it's none of my business, but Commander Hange came back last night," the guard chimed in. "You'd best trot along, she wants to see you two in an hour or so."

"Yes, sir," said Annie flatly.

* * *

Following this meeting, as well as breakfast, Annie and Eren took to the nearly-empty catacombs. The weather was fairer this day, the sky spotted by clouds.

"So what have you been up to over these past few days?" Eren asked her. "I mean, besides the obvious?"

"Nothing of much importance, why?"

He shrugged. "I thought they would give us something to do other than sit here and…."

"Train?" she suggested. "Sure. We should re-evaluate your technique sometime soon, shouldn't we?"

"Right," said Eren, sounding distant. He looked at her a moment. "You look tired," he said. "I'm sure Commander Hange would understand if you needed to take a day off or something."

"You're changing the topic. Where do you want to meet up?"

"We've got an appointment," he reminded her, grinning. "I didn't know you fancied my company that much."

Annie rolled her eyes. "Look, it's me who started this in the first place; I should be the one to deal with her."

Eren wouldn't be swayed so easily. "Come off it, it won't be nearly as bad if we go through this together. Besides, I came to you this time. I'll go. We'll be even."

"That's not the point. I don't trust her with you," Annie said gruffly. She paused, then added: "Or myself, for that matter."

"All right," Eren reasoned, "so she's a little eccentric. But she's not about to have us executed or anything like that."

"The last time I saw the Commander, she told me I was a very rare specimen and that this was the chance of a lifetime," Annie said dryly. "She talked a lot about you, as well. Personally, I think you're being a bit generous."

"…Did she really say that stuff? The specimen thing, I mean."

"Ask me again and I will personally ensure that you'll be making the next couple trips on your own," said Annie coldly.

Eren sobered a little. "Really, though," he said, "I can go in your stead, it's no problem."

"All right," said Annie. "I'll leave you to it."

Before either of them could take a single step a thought occurred to her, and she opened her mouth: "Wait, where are they keeping you?"

Eren paused, holding her gaze. "As of late? If I walk back with you, I could probably point it out before I go."

She shrugged. "Be my guest."

The trip back to her cell was quiet. Eren kept a few paces behind her and she was grateful for his distance.

"Let me know if you need anything," he told her, as she unlocked her door.

"Suppose if I'm deathly ill? How are we supposed to communicate?"

He huffed. "Somehow, I doubt you'll be that indisposed."

"Hey, Eren…?"

"Hm?"

Her eyes stayed on her hand, clutching the door. Her heart thudded vehemently in her chest. She realised she was shaking, slightly. "I…I'll see you later," she told him, and closed the door behind her. And waited.

She heard his footsteps retreating and exhaled, heavily. Alone, Annie could think more clearly. Now the thought struck her; she still had no idea where Eren was being kept. Annie cursed her lack of foresight, but that could hardly be helped now. And it wasn't as if she was never going to see him again. She could always ask him later.

Making a mental note to go through with that proposition, and ever cognisant of the stale sweat cloying on her skin, she frowned at the empty wash-tin beside the bed. If she wanted a proper wash, she'd have to go fetch fresh water. Though the last thing she wanted was to return to the heated temperature outside, she figured that it was better to do it now than put it off any longer than necessary. Without a second thought, she turned to retrieve a small bucket kept for this very purpose—by the door for convenience—and headed off.

Several minutes later, she was back in the cell with a bucket-full of cool water. She set it down with care and could not help but feel a little better at the prospect of a proper wash. As she discarded her clothes and scrubbed her body down, she was taken by a peculiar sensation of liberation. Once she was acceptably clean, she pulled on some fresh garb and walked the length of the room in an attempt to dry off, shivering involuntarily at the chill on her damp skin.

Devoid of any current duties, Annie considered her options. Knowing Commander Hange had already made a return was quite the motivator. She and Eren would certainly be more-or-less trapped together under the grudgingly watchful eyes of the guards, who did not fear their Commander's little side-experiments as much as they stayed wary of them; Annie knew her gamble from yester-day would not work twice.

Yet Annie also knew she could not simply sneak out on some unspecified side-job, and certainly not with Eren in tow. There was suspicion cast upon her, and perhaps rightly so, given the nature of their last rendezvous; even the newest recruits could become leery, and it would be stupid to underestimate them, or anyone else, for that matter.

She definitely had to come up with a proper excuse next time, something better than_ I was training_ or _I was going to fetch some water and I ran into him on the way there, Sir_. Both of these accounts sounded inconclusive. She needed a more convincing argument, and Annie wasn't sure she trusted Eren enough to do much more than keep his mouth shut, at least for the foreseeable future.

_I'd gone to the river instead of the well to re-fill my flask. Jaeger wanted to tag along. I figured it would be rude to refuse him…._

But that was too easy. It made them out to be friends, but who didn't already suspect them to share some kind of companionship? Between the history they shared and the fact that they trained and worked together habitually, it was difficult to dispel these kinds of scandalous notions. So it would seem natural, she reassured herself, to play their meeting off as nothing more than a partially-innocent scuffle. Invoke a touch of guilt at her allowance of his company, and the others would take her up on that honesty and not bother her.

Yet Annie was hardly at ease. They had both been rather reckless yesterday. Still, it had been enough to seek him out. Perhaps she might make that twice this week, or thrice, if she wanted to be daring—but what was enough to the young body, beguiled thus? A few more days afforded to her—she had left him not much more than half an hour ago, and her self-control was already dwindling. And despite what either of them might have wished or fancied, it had been her decision—originally—to act upon impulse; though Eren was hardly a fool, and there was little shame in going to him now that they understood one another.

She paced a few minutes more, hair wet, feeling wholly restless and uncomfortably cold. Her tension drove her out into the hall again. Thinking in circles would get her no-where.

"Taking another walk, Leonhardt?" the guard inquired. She ignored him.

Under the summer sun, she took to her favourite spot on the training ground, mercifully empty. Her mind would not rest. Assuring ideal conditions to sneak herself and Eren out would require far more delicacy, and she did not have all the time in the world to plan her next move…. It would have to be a period when the guards and soldiers were more relaxed; but the aftermath of victory had ensured this to be a reality, in some ways. That left early morning or late evening, or perhaps even mealtimes, but Annie was pretty sure neither of them was quite that desperate. Fine. When else could they get away with it…?

Annie turned the question over her head for a while, then stopped, scowling. She'd wasted enough time daydreaming. Air was a better target than nothing, so she kicked out and pretended there was an enemy. The more thought she afforded her imagined foe, the easier it became to fall into a pattern. Focussing was ingrained within her, and she embraced the natural order of combat.

But when she had to take a break, her thoughts conspired with the as-of-yet unanswered roil in her loins—because if she stopped now, the thought of the boy and the half-repressed dream might find a proper hold on her.

She grit her teeth and pushed her heel into the dirt. The enemy grinned knowingly, as if they had just shared some unspoken, dirty secret.

'Once more,' it said. 'Then you can take a break.'

This wasn't Eren's fault, no matter how much she wanted it to be so. Thinking about how childish she was acting only served to aggravate her further.

When she lowered her fists, however, she was trembling. She took a swig of water and tried to calm herself.

'Look at you, you poor thing,' the opponent called flatly, no longer entertained by her sense of struggle.

_Shut up_, she thought. _This doesn't concern you_.

Her argument was weak, she knew this. She dared not close her eyes for some superfluous fear that the boy's presence in mind would distract her. Blinking was acceptable. She had a minor headache and her mouth was sticky, lips chapped; she hadn't realised how thirsty she was. A trip to the river was in order, but she decided to go to the well, even though it was a longer, hotter route. Her clothes were sticking to her like a second skin by the time she reached her destination, yet Annie was filled with a sense of pride at her resilience as she pulled the lever and drew up the bucket. The water was cool and tasted strongly of metal, but it was well worth the effort.

She did not dawdle long beneath the stony eaves, and returned to her spot on the empty field. Resuming her stance, she closed her eyes to concentrate, arms raised, body taut. Shutting the world out, she imagined the enemy again, featureless and somewhat formidable. As if in spite of her wishes, another thought came to her, unbidden—let the boy push her up against something, a tree, or rock-face, because she didn't want to do it on the ground—and Annie snapped open her eyes and her mouth was dry again. Another swig of water did not help; she was feverish.

"No," she said, hands shaking. "Goddam it, no."

It was too late to stop, though she knew she had to. Now turn it around, imagine him standing or sitting in her stead—but could he be discreet? What would he ask of her, and how would she manage it—?

Outside she had the privilege of throwing a good punch to take the edge off her distress. It left her knuckles smarting and the tree none-the-wiser. Annie shook her hand out, curling her fingers, and watched the welling crimson on her skin.

'That didn't help.'

"_Fuck_ you," she spat, holding her fist as it steamed. She knew it would bruise.

'Ask him.'

She eyed the spot where she had struck the bark and something coiled tight and warm in her gut. Sweating and flushed—it was the heat of summer, she thought firmly—and unwilling to admit the cause of her agitation, she walked on without much penchant for direction.

She found solace beneath the yawning dark stretch of the branches of a nearby tree. Her body was insistent. She pressed her face into her palms and her shaking knees together, trying to control herself, though there were still a number of things she could picture with appalling ease.

If she thought about things level-headedly, then this was an animal urge and she was merely satisfying it for her own benefit. (After all, Eren probably did the same thing from time to time. He must, because why else did the boys speak of it in jest?) But had she not _just _done so, yester-day? Or was it the act itself that tempered her emotions into something far more uncontrollable?

Perhaps it would be easier, to think of his breath on her nape or his hands on her skin than deny it any longer. Easier, to shove one hand down her chinos and the other up her shirt and work herself to completion than admit he would feel any different than fingers when he pulled her into his lap.

Annie shivered, leaning back slowly into the rough shape of the tree. She did not permit herself to concede. She took her hands away from her face and relaxed her legs and emitted a strange sound, just shy of a groan. It became a dry chuckle, lips curling faintly. Where was her sense of discipline?

* * *

_a/n 9/17/16: I also briefly abridged the ending to help the narrative flow. Hopefully no one will mind._


End file.
